Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Other Big Game => Topic started by: Bushcraft on October 21, 2019, 02:11:57 PM
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What do you consider to be the best available resources (books, articles, videos, YouTube, etc.) on calling in cougars?
I generally have a lot of downtime every day during my modern firearm elk season and would be interested in using it to try and call in a cougar.
URL links would be great!
Thanks!
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Single best resource happens to visit this Forum. @Rainshadow1 :)
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What do you consider to be the best available resources (books, articles, videos, YouTube, etc.) on calling in cougars?
I generally have a lot of downtime every day during my modern firearm elk season and would be interested in using it to try and call in a cougar.
URL links would be great!
Thanks!
have you seen this thread?
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,185537.0.html
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If it were me trying to call in a lion while elk hunting, i would just be doing pretty frequent calf vocalizations for two reasons. For one, it would be a noise that wouldnt be a risk of spooking elk like a screeching screaming rabbit noise could, and for two, any lion in the area already is hunting elk. They know the calf sound, its a dinner bell for them. :twocents:
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The problem with calling lions with distress calls is they slink in, very patiently watch over the area before walking in and in a lot of instances bust you and leave without you ever know they were there. Rainshadow1 has some call sounds which are extremely effective at bringing cats in and putting them at ease enough to walk in, relaxed.
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What do you consider to be the best available resources (books, articles, videos, YouTube, etc.) on calling in cougars?
I generally have a lot of downtime every day during my modern firearm elk season and would be interested in using it to try and call in a cougar.
URL links would be great!
Thanks!
Nope...thank you.
have you seen this thread?
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,185537.0.html
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I would agree
I called a cat in using soft cow calls, sat in the same spot for an hour resting and practicing my cow calls while sitting there and just incase something passed by. Cat came in, didn't know it, then I got up to head down the draw and going through this thick reprod crap I near walked on top of a cat, it hissed at me but didn't shoot it (hella thick)
called in another cat, was waiting at a spot for my hunting pardners and they were late so I was just chillin at a crossroad we were suppose to meet up. Again, blowing on my cow call, hour or so just softly in case an elk was wandering past somewhere, I sat up and the brush exploded 10 feet behind me as a cat blew out. No idea how long it was watching the back of my head.
So I'd just get into an elky area and blow some calf calls, not all frantic like its dying but just some chirps "momma where are you?" calls..maybe a little needy and whiny, but not dying.
do it for an hour + and the thing is the cat is going to come through the brush in the thick stuff so spotting it will be the challenge. If you can elevate and watch a finger of thick brush leading to your ecaller that would be ideal
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I would agree with bango skank and Mahicas about them slinking in, but not the part about them just strolling in after playing a cougar vocal.
Hasn't happened to me yet, I have the rainshadow whistle, I have all the RS cougar vocals and chirps...made my own, I got prolly 20 lion vocals and I studied what each is for and have yet to see a cougar "stroll in"
I've done big call sessions starting with a coyote locator, fawn bleats, coyote barks, distressed doe, more coyote barks, which often gets does running around all crazy...
I get everything quiet then do cougar chirps/whistles and nada, nothing ever just "strolls in" like they own the place. I pretty much end all my calling sessions with cougar vocals. I will say I've had them chirp back twice now, but didn't come in. One was going along a big long rock rim chirping, I chirp back, but it didn't come in and it got too dark eventually, I was there a long time all excited :chuckle: I've had a few chirp back now that didn't come in
Now I prefer to locate their sneak routes and set up to get them sneaking in or parking on their rumps to take a peak at whats going on, so I sit above the call on vantages
I wish I had more range on the foxpro, but I got an older one CS24B
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While calling bears I have called in 3 cats that I am aware of and I'm certain several I never knew where there and all busted me and left before I saw them. Just found out once I was done by the person watching the other way and by the evidence once I was finished calling. I accidently called in a HUGE tom one spring turkey season. Very nearly ended up with that cat on my back. Never heared him come in and even watching him walk away at 15 yards, never heard a sound. Pretty impressive!!
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Ya
I don't think calling them in is hard at all, they're very curious and will come check out just about anything. Just raking brush and breaking sticks will get them to come in.
seeing them and getting a shot is the hard part (and not getting busted)
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While calling bears I have called in 3 cats that I am aware of and I'm certain several I never knew where there and all busted me and left before I saw them. Just found out once I was done by the person watching the other way and by the evidence once I was finished calling. I accidently called in a HUGE tom one spring turkey season. Very nearly ended up with that cat on my back. Never heared him come in and even watching him walk away at 15 yards, never heard a sound. Pretty impressive!!
I'm thinking about using a turkey decoy and turkey distress sounds, see how that does
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While calling bears I have called in 3 cats that I am aware of and I'm certain several I never knew where there and all busted me and left before I saw them. Just found out once I was done by the person watching the other way and by the evidence once I was finished calling. I accidently called in a HUGE tom one spring turkey season. Very nearly ended up with that cat on my back. Never heared him come in and even watching him walk away at 15 yards, never heard a sound. Pretty impressive!!
I'm thinking about using a turkey decoy and turkey distress sounds, see how that does
I think it would be effective and I think it would be even more effective if you added movement to your decoy.
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What do you consider to be the best available resources (books, articles, videos, YouTube, etc.) on calling in cougars?
I generally have a lot of downtime every day during my modern firearm elk season and would be interested in using it to try and call in a cougar.
URL links would be great!
Thanks!
I don't know if you're gone thru the call-in-story page on my website, but it's got quite a bit of information and inspiration on the subject. I've read most everything I could find on American Lions, and reviewed them on the site also. YouTube has several pretty amazing trail cam captures for vocals! I've got some great stuff from Olympic Game Farm cats that I've turned into calling sequences, but probably the best I've seen (and heard) is a cat doing the whistle, from left to right, right in front of a trail cam. I don't have a link but you'll find it. Cool stuff!
Overall, there isn't much out there. Working on that! Priorities have me very limited now, but I still have big ideas!
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Heres a video of a lion whistling in my back yard.
Not a valid vimeo URL
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Did i link the right one? Cant see which vid i posted due to crap satellite wifi.
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Yep you got the one on there you were trying to.
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I was lucky enough to get to see two cats chirping and whistling back and forth for about a half hour. I'm guessing it was a mating deal since they were also purring and rubbing thier heads on each other. It's a hard sound to describe and scary once u realize u have heard that noise before and just thought it was a bird.
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plopping this here so I can watch later
This was a fun video to tag along on
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Yesterday I did 4 different sets with a foxpro furry and nothing came in (visually) but hiking into my 3rd setup I seen thee biggest blacktail buck I’ve seen he dwarfs what’s on my walls and he wasn’t 300 yards from my setup that I was running the caller at
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That is an awesome video KFHunter! Thanks for posting it :tup:
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Yesterday I did 4 different sets with a foxpro furry and nothing came in (visually) but hiking into my 3rd setup I seen thee biggest blacktail buck I’ve seen he dwarfs what’s on my walls and he wasn’t 300 yards from my setup that I was running the caller at
We’re you calling on fresh tracks or sign? I’ve been trying to kill a cat near my house for 2 years but he just had too big of a range. Can’t confidently say he’s ever been in earshot of my caller. Comes by about once every 6 weeks. When conditions are right I’m going to drive some roads and call from a fresh set of tracks
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Yesterday I did 4 different sets with a foxpro furry and nothing came in (visually) but hiking into my 3rd setup I seen thee biggest blacktail buck I’ve seen he dwarfs what’s on my walls and he wasn’t 300 yards from my setup that I was running the caller at
We’re you calling on fresh tracks or sign? I’ve been trying to kill a cat near my house for 2 years but he just had too big of a range. Can’t confidently say he’s ever been in earshot of my caller. Comes by about once every 6 weeks. When conditions are right I’m going to drive some roads and call from a fresh set of tracks
over the last couple years there has been several kills here and tracks ! I’m going to keep hitting this area as I know he frequently comes through plus the amount of deer in the area year round I think is a plus
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I would agree with bango skank and Mahicas about them slinking in, but not the part about them just strolling in after playing a cougar vocal.
Hasn't happened to me yet, I have the rainshadow whistle, I have all the RS cougar vocals and chirps...made my own, I got prolly 20 lion vocals and I studied what each is for and have yet to see a cougar "stroll in"
I've done big call sessions starting with a coyote locator, fawn bleats, coyote barks, distressed doe, more coyote barks, which often gets does running around all crazy...
I get everything quiet then do cougar chirps/whistles and nada, nothing ever just "strolls in" like they own the place. I pretty much end all my calling sessions with cougar vocals. I will say I've had them chirp back twice now, but didn't come in. One was going along a big long rock rim chirping, I chirp back, but it didn't come in and it got too dark eventually, I was there a long time all excited :chuckle: I've had a few chirp back now that didn't come in
Now I prefer to locate their sneak routes and set up to get them sneaking in or parking on their rumps to take a peak at whats going on, so I sit above the call on vantages
I wish I had more range on the foxpro, but I got an older one CS24B
I have called in several cats. Only 2 of which I can prove. The first one was out of season. I called it in during a coyote stand. It came in unbelievably stealthy. It came in through a clear cut and I never saw it until it got directly between me and my caller. I was sitting ontop of a stump and had a good view of the place. I started playing RS cougar vocals and it jumped ontop of a stump and sat down. It ended up sitting in the middle of a clear cut. wide open area. it sat down and I have pics of it with its mouth open just sitting there. It also vocalized several times.
My second cat I shot at 16 yards. A big tom. He strolled right in ontop of a log. I was using RS ougar vocals and a couple short foxpro vocals. He walked in without a worry in the world. He was 100% focused on where he heard the sound coming from and didn't see me sitting off to his left. Vocals absolutely can make them stroll right in. Of course it won't work every time, because there are too many variables to predict. But it can and does work. I have personally watched the attitude change from stealthy sneaking in during distress, to lounging around in the sun and chatting like a house cat after vocals. Both of my stories and pics are on the RS page. RS14 and RS17.
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I use rainshadows call and have gotten a lot of vocal responses. Never had one walk in like it owned the place
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I use rainshadows call and have gotten a lot of vocal responses. Never had one walk in like it owned the place
You ain't the only one
Hasn't happened to me yet, I have the rainshadow whistle, I have all the RS cougar vocals and chirps...made my own, I got prolly 20 lion vocals and I studied what each is for and have yet to see a cougar "stroll in"
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Yesterday I did 4 different sets with a foxpro furry and nothing came in (visually) but hiking into my 3rd setup I seen thee biggest blacktail buck I’ve seen he dwarfs what’s on my walls and he wasn’t 300 yards from my setup that I was running the caller at
I'm going to need gps coordinates of this buck....I'm still trying to fill my late tag :chuckle:
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Is there any consensus on what the best distress call is? Rabbit or deer for example?
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I think the call is much less important than being at the right place at the right time.
It's hard to answer that, as calling in a cougar is a rare occurrence. I've had them come into dying rabbit being blasted at nearly full volume and a decoy wagging around, but it hung up and I didn't see it until I quit my stand and stood up, then it slunk off and I couldn't get on it.
I've had them come in numerous times elk hunting, blowing a soft cow call occasionally. I wasn't cougar hunting, but they came none the less, and close!
so IMO I think they'll come in if they want too, that is *IF* they hear it. If one's napping 100 yards from a fresh kill I'm not sure anything will get it to come, maybe some cougar vocals might get it up, I don't know.
At the top of this forum section there's a sticky thread about this with a lot of reading, it's 11 pages and that's after I've deleted most of the cougar women references that pop up every stinking time there's a cougar thread.
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,185537.0.html
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I think the call is much less important than being at the right place at the right time.
It's hard to answer that, as calling in a cougar is a rare occurrence. I've had them come into dying rabbit being blasted at nearly full volume and a decoy wagging around, but it hung up and I didn't see it until I quit my stand and stood up, then it slunk off and I couldn't get on it.
I've had them come in numerous times elk hunting, blowing a soft cow call occasionally. I wasn't cougar hunting, but they came none the less, and close!
so IMO I think they'll come in if they want too, that is *IF* they hear it. If one's napping 100 yards from a fresh kill I'm not sure anything will get it to come, maybe some cougar vocals might get it up, I don't know.
At the top of this forum section there's a sticky thread about this with a lot of reading, it's 11 pages and that's after I've deleted most of the cougar women references that pop up every stinking time there's a cougar thread.
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,185537.0.html
I agree. location is everything. I don't think the type of distress matters that much. When I called the first cat in, I was using ranting redbird and baby cottontail. It came in at 24 minutes. When I called the second one in, I was using elk calf distress, blacktail fawn distress, blacktail doe distress, raccoon fight then switch ed to cougar vocals after around 10-15 minutes. It came in around 26 minutes. I think as long as it's loud and sounds interesting and convincing to the cat it really doesn't matter.
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I use rainshadows call and have gotten a lot of vocal responses. Never had one walk in like it owned the place
You ain't the only one
Hasn't happened to me yet, I have the rainshadow whistle, I have all the RS cougar vocals and chirps...made my own, I got prolly 20 lion vocals and I studied what each is for and have yet to see a cougar "stroll in"
i lied, my very first call in I had a cougar come walking right in to the wide open. Was elk hunting 113. Had been playing Radom elk sounds and spotted a cougar half mile away sitting on a burm over looking the valley between us. Was the year I killed my first cougar. It dropped in the valley and I figured it was the last I seen of it. 20 min later it was right below me. Was already tagged out so I yelled at it and it ran off.
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Been watching this thread. I am stuck at number 19 of called cougars, but didn't get out much last winter.
Lotta good info on this thread. I consider Rainshadow's site and stories of call-ins the single best source for info on calling lions. If you think as you read, in some of the stories the person reveals info about called cougars that the story teller hasn't grasped himself.
Just wanted to add that animals differ just as humans do, and we try too hard sometimes to expect all of them to do what one did. IE. my son and I have had cougars run toward a call within 60 seconds of the start of the sound, stroll in, sneak in over an hour's time, sneak close then lie down and watch the person calling or the electronic caller. Some vocalize as they approach, and some make no sound on approach to the same calling sound. Re sounds, we have heard cougars make a wide variety of sounds. Rainshadow has recordings of most of those sounds. IMO precise sound is the least critical factor in calling cats but I strongly prefer to use cougar vocals.
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3rd calling session today. This was supposed to be a cougar. Oh well, ill take it.
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Ya, I'd have taken that too :tup: Itching to get out there!
whats that chewed up thing with the dog print on it?
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Its a cat track, not a dog track. Fawn call, solid ivory.
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Its a cat track, not a dog track. Fawn call, solid ivory.
nice! Ya now I see the track :chuckle:
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Looks like the .243 put a spankin on it....... :yike:
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Ya, I'd have taken that too :tup: Itching to get out there!
whats that chewed up thing with the dog print on it?
I was thinking what is the thing with the chewed up Maalox bottle? Did the yote chew the end off it?
But it is a neat call.
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Ya, I'd have taken that too :tup: Itching to get out there!
whats that chewed up thing with the dog print on it?
I was thinking what is the thing with the chewed up Maalox bottle? Did the yote chew the end off it?
But it is a neat call.
I thought it was a freshette director at first glance :tung:
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Ya, I'd have taken that too :tup: Itching to get out there!
whats that chewed up thing with the dog print on it?
I was thinking what is the thing with the chewed up Maalox bottle? Did the yote chew the end off it?
But it is a neat call.
I thought it was a freshette director at first glance :tung:
:dunno: Google is a world of information. I guess I am a bit behind the times..
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No idea what a freshette director is. Here are a couple better pics of the call though. http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3167956#Post3167956
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I was just kidding you, love the call :tup:
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That is an Awesome call Bango.
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Pretty depressing day. Went to a mountain i havent hunted in 5 years. Therecwas always plenty of deer there. North side of the mountain i did find lion tracks, and a very few deer tracks. Called with no response that im aware of. Decided to hike to the south side of the mountain. Hardly even a deer track to be seen anywhere. Just a damn wasteland. Not even worth the time to call. And the real crazy thing is, i didnt even see one single coyote track. Tomorrow morning im going back to where i know there are deer, lions, bobs and tons of yotes hanging around. Maybe ill get lucky and whack the cat that ripped up my buck.
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I’m seeing the same in my areas. Ghost town
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Well good luck out there what call are you using
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Closed reed fawn call. Its the one in the pic with the yote a few posts up. Got up to the area ill be hunting a little early. Sitting in the truck waiting for daylight to go do my first calling session of the day.
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Damn im good
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.....
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Yes!!!can’t wait for more pics.
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Calling for 23 minutes. Weird slow movement through thick brush like 4 or 5 yards away. Wtf is that. Takes another sloooow step toward me. Cougar! So close and through thick brush i had a hard time seeing it through my scope even at 2x power, when i saw fur in my scope i shot. She went loping off funny and i shot again. Man, that was nuts!!!!
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:tup:
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Congrats again Bango. What a great season you’ve had. Your taxidermist is going to love you
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Sweet! Nice job Bango!
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Awesome!! beautiful cat. Any idea what it weighs?
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Gongrats Bango!
I'd say you got it figured out for sure! Not sure anyone else is more consistantly putting down cats than you.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
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Gongrats Bango!
I'd say you got it figured out for sure! Not sure anyone else is more consistantly putting down cats than you.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
:yeah:
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Awesome work dude. :tup: You're tearing it up this fall.
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Is there a particular time of year where calling cats is more effective? Or is it just anytime?
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WOW! WTG Bango! This one was CLOSE!
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Awesome Bango! Between the Bears, yotes and the cats You are definitely doing your part.
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You Da Man!!
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Right on good job !
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Great shot! Both rifle and photo.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Screw it, my taxidermy bill is already getting up there this year, im getting a full mount done. :tup:
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Screw it, my taxidermy bill is already getting up there this year, im getting a full mount done. :tup:
How much does that run, if I might ask?
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Screw it, my taxidermy bill is already getting up there this year, im getting a full mount done. :tup:
How much does that run, if I might ask?
Varies by the taxidermist. Im getting a bit of a deal, probably because im bringing him so much damn work.
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I was quoted $3500 for a full body cougar mount.
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Calling for 23 minutes. Weird slow movement through thick brush like 4 or 5 yards away. Wtf is that. Takes another sloooow step toward me. Cougar! So close and through thick brush i had a hard time seeing it through my scope even at 2x power, when i saw fur in my scope i shot. He went loping off funny and i shot again. Man, that was nuts!!!!
NIIIIICCCEEE!!!! Way to make it happen, Bango! Write me up a good story!
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Will do steve.
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Awesome!!!
Congrats! Cool pics. :tup: :drool:
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Nice job man!
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Very cool congrats
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That is incredible Bango!!! Your trail cam pics are outstanding, your buck story this year was amazing! As I read this at work today I was just in AWW!! Love it! Great job, congrats on a sweet cat. Thank you so much for sharing :tup:.
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Going to be tough to top that, all down hill from here? Maybe doing the same with a human killing leopard in India? Thanks
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Awesome job!! Congrats!!
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Congrats on the success! :tup:
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I sat from 10 am to 4 30 pm in two different places tonight (both in deer blinds). I cycled through various calls on the fox pro trying to get a coug to show himself. I consistently get pictures of cougars in this area, so I sat all day in my two deer blinds working the call.
After about 2.5 hours in the second blind my buddy and I played "cougar in heat" a cougar popped out after about 5 mins. He/she stood there for about 10 seconds and then turned around and left. No shot.
Not getting the kill was depressing; however, after working the call all day it was nice that a cougar showed.
Anyone think i should go back to the same blind and start calling again in two days? Do you think the cougar is now familiar with ecallers and its not worth it?
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Ok, JUST POSTED! Story # O31
Yeah, he did it again, this time right into his lap! HAND CALLED COUGAR!
Way to go, Bango!
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Just getting one to show is a big win in my book. It helps keep the motivation up. Doing set after set without seeing a cat can really get a guy feeling discouraged.
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Congrats on the cat !!!
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Got this all cleaned up
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Awesome Bango.
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Awesome
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I'm still waiting for snow in my area. My first cougar tag is burning a hole in my wallet. What's a good non-electronic call for a beginner?
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Bango is using a custom hand call, but its a fawn bleat.
I've bought half a dozen fawn bleat calls and I cant make any of them sound like a fawn bleat at all.
But Ive had several cats come to elk calls, so I'd do cow elk calls, or better yet elk calf calls..that I can do!
If you got any elk around thatd be the ticket
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Calling in an animal and harvesting it is a whole other level when it comes to hunting especially predators.
Bango it is awesome to see your success in this thread and the bear thread. Inspired me to go out and try to harvest a bear by calling. Pretty certain I had one coming in when the wind shifted game over :yike:
I have a cougar call In story I will add as well.
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I have chased a ton of cats with dogs starting from the time I was about 12. Caught everything from a 10 pound lion kitten in Canada to a 175 pound tom in MT which was biggest Tom I've been part of shooting. Only reason we shot this cat was because it was killing dogs. Caught couple bigger when quota was filled. Seen numerous cats while driving or hiking over the years but never really tried to call one in....
In places like MT and Idaho where you have quotas that maintain healthy populations I would be an advocate for shooting mature lions more so tom's. Only ever shot one female over our dogs. Being as I now live in this state that has allowed our ungulates to be mercilessly decimated I'm a strong advocate for as many predators to be removed as possible.
A friend of mine calls me one night says I heard a lion kill a deer right at dark...I decide to go up the next morning to look around. I wait until there's good light in the timber and start walking up the old Rd. As I'm nearing the place that was describe to me the wind is blowing and swirling so I take note of the bend in the Rd and deer trails going through the draw. Perfect place to call see both directions of the Rd and part of the timbered draw. I walk up the deer trail and look for a kill site to no avail. At this point it's too windy to be effective calling. I like to be able to hear a little bit atleast while I'm sitting there calling in a wild predator. I know even then sometimes you can't hear them but I like the thought! So I decide to hike up to the top of the ridge and just look around. About an hour has passed since I checked out the area the kill was made or supposed kill and the wind had died down perfect! Game on! I know this has been a long post but what happened literally took like minutes to transpire it was crazy!
So I walk off this Rd on same trail I had walked just an HR before...I go about 30 yds up the hill sit down under a tree...yep this is the spot...get my call out of my pack stand up walk back down trail just short of Rd turn around walk back to tree sit down...load pistol(should have used it) rifles already loaded...turn on contoller select rabbit call push button....second squeal is not even finished ...theres now a mountain lion almost standing on the trail I just walked up and down 3 times... raise rifle shoot...dead mountain lion...as it jumped into the air and did a flip I immediately started looking for the mother. This cat was just shy of 6 ft nose to tail and weighed only 50 pounds.
I know there was another cat nearby and I'm sure there was a kill somewhere close. This cat had to have been bedded down within 10 or 15 feet of the trail I used that day and when the call started it jumped up and was probably only 30 to 40 feet away.
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got any pictures?
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Awesome! Congrats Bango! Everyone needs to do this yearly and help those deer and elk out.
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Awesome! Congrats Bango! Everyone needs to do this yearly and help those deer and elk out.
I have to take a week or so off from hunting. Have to go to seattle for a few days :puke: and have some other things to do when i get home, but i intend to get out doing more predator hunting after that. Yotes, hopefully id like to get a bobcat, and a friend wants to come with to try for a lion. But i really want to start taking out more predators. Its tempting to just want to kick back in front of the fire at home after deer seasons over and its cold out, but ill be making myself get out calling more than i usually do. A few days ago i was out hunting and there was a mess of ravens making a big ruckus so i went to investigate. A little fresh snow made tracks hard to read, but im assuming this was the work of some coyotes or maybe a wolf. From what i could tell, it looked like this young buck had been dragged down several times, getting his guts pulled out before he died. Not a pretty way to go.
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Bango, good photo record. I saw the same sequence in the snow where a pack of wolves had pulled down a moose. I was flying in a STOL plane in Alaska with a trapper friend, following the tracks of a pack of wolves on a frozen snow covered river when we came to where they had killed a moose, with the remains of the dead moose on the river ice. At tree top level it was clear that the pack had jumped the moose from a thicket on shore, and pulled it down after the moose ran onto the ice. The moose had gotten to its feet twice and each time ran a few more strides, and been pulled down each time. Its eaten out carcass lay where it had fallen the third time. Ugly trail of blood and tracks in the snow. Bad way to go but that is the norm.
Worst mess of blood on snow I ever saw was where a wolverine had killed a button mule deer buck. A rectangle at least 40x20 feet was trampled and body-pressed bloody snow. The wolverine turned the deer on its back and ate down, bones and all till we jumped it off of the fresh carcass. The tenderloins and outer straps were yet untouched, but sternum, ribs, leg bones, leg muscles, entrails, lungs, and heart were all eaten. Short stubs of ribs remained with chewed off ends.
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I'm still waiting for snow in my area. My first cougar tag is burning a hole in my wallet. What's a good non-electronic call for a beginner?
Closed reed calls are much easier to use and take almost zero learning to produce an acceptable sound. Open reed calls require a bit of learning to "play" but are capable of producing a wide range of sounds. If you are really new to hand calls, start with a closed reed.
Purt near any rabbit or fawn distress call will work on lions. I'd get in touch with Rainshadow and buy one of his beauties. If I needed the call today I'd go buy a commercial Primos jack rabbit or fawn distress or whatever brand your local sporting goods or even a Wal-Mart has.
With many of the commercial calls, I cannot tell the difference between what they call fawn distress and jackrabbit or hare distress and sometimes bear cub distress -- and I don't think the animals know either! :) If it sounds like some kind of small animal or bird in trouble, most predators will come check it out.
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Just turned a moose antler base for a customer who wanted a "Royal" Cougar whistle....
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49194168408_e530ac28ba.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hX7Yno)RoyalCoug1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hX7Yno) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
Voiced it the same as the basic plain wood calls that I or one of my kids turn for my Cougar Packages. With a little practice it does a great Cougar Whistle.
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I have chased a ton of cats with dogs starting from the time I was about 12. Caught everything from a 10 pound lion kitten in Canada to a 175 pound tom in MT which was biggest Tom I've been part of shooting. Only reason we shot this cat was because it was killing dogs. Caught couple bigger when quota was filled. Seen numerous cats while driving or hiking over the years but never really tried to call one in....
In places like MT and Idaho where you have quotas that maintain healthy populations I would be an advocate for shooting mature lions more so tom's. Only ever shot one female over our dogs. Being as I now live in this state that has allowed our ungulates to be mercilessly decimated I'm a strong advocate for as many predators to be removed as possible.
A friend of mine calls me one night says I heard a lion kill a deer right at dark...I decide to go up the next morning to look around. I wait until there's good light in the timber and start walking up the old Rd. As I'm nearing the place that was describe to me the wind is blowing and swirling so I take note of the bend in the Rd and deer trails going through the draw. Perfect place to call see both directions of the Rd and part of the timbered draw. I walk up the deer trail and look for a kill site to no avail. At this point it's too windy to be effective calling. I like to be able to hear a little bit atleast while I'm sitting there calling in a wild predator. I know even then sometimes you can't hear them but I like the thought! So I decide to hike up to the top of the ridge and just look around. About an hour has passed since I checked out the area the kill was made or supposed kill and the wind had died down perfect! Game on! I know this has been a long post but what happened literally took like minutes to transpire it was crazy!
So I walk off this Rd on same trail I had walked just an HR before...I go about 30 yds up the hill sit down under a tree...yep this is the spot...get my call out of my pack stand up walk back down trail just short of Rd turn around walk back to tree sit down...load pistol(should have used it) rifles already loaded...turn on contoller select rabbit call push button....second squeal is not even finished ...theres now a mountain lion almost standing on the trail I just walked up and down 3 times... raise rifle shoot...dead mountain lion...as it jumped into the air and did a flip I immediately started looking for the mother. This cat was just shy of 6 ft nose to tail and weighed only 50 pounds.
I know there was another cat nearby and I'm sure there was a kill somewhere close. This cat had to have been bedded down within 10 or 15 feet of the trail I used that day and when the call started it jumped up and was probably only 30 to 40 feet away.
Big Sky, would like to flesh out the call-in part of the post and get it on my website if possible? Send me a mssg?
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Thats a beauty there man.
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Bango, good photo record. I saw the same sequence in the snow where a pack of wolves had pulled down a moose. I was flying in a STOL plane in Alaska with a trapper friend, following the tracks of a pack of wolves on a frozen snow covered river when we came to where they had killed a moose, with the remains of the dead moose on the river ice. At tree top level it was clear that the pack had jumped the moose from a thicket on shore, and pulled it down after the moose ran onto the ice. The moose had gotten to its feet twice and each time ran a few more strides, and been pulled down each time. Its eaten out carcass lay where it had fallen the third time. Ugly trail of blood and tracks in the snow. Bad way to go but that is the norm.
Worst mess of blood on snow I ever saw was where a wolverine had killed a button mule deer buck. A rectangle at least 40x20 feet was trampled and body-pressed bloody snow. The wolverine turned the deer on its back and ate down, bones and all till we jumped it off of the fresh carcass. The tenderloins and outer straps were yet untouched, but sternum, ribs, leg bones, leg muscles, entrails, lungs, and heart were all eaten. Short stubs of ribs remained with chewed off ends.
Worst I ever came across was a Lion kill in the upper Dungeness. It had obviously been an ambush from above the road, the cut bank in the location was 20' high. Fresh snow, the entire full width of the roadbed was sprayed with blood for 70 feet. Looked like a gladiator arena! 8" of snow all churned up and mixed with blood. Quite the scene. I found a dismembered deer leg downhill of it, like maybe coyotes moved in and cleaned up the cashed deer. Definitely a Cougar kill due to tracks of the cat fighting the deer down, but there was no cashe. I thought I had a picture of it, but I can't find it, that was probably 2010.
Same era, over to the east of that one, I found where a pair of coyotes had tracked a deer up a road for over a mile, then squared off with it and killed it in a landing. Other Coyotes had joined it at some point. Not as much blood, but that thing was gone too! Just a patch of hair about a square foot sitting in the middle of the landing, looked like it was from the withers or thereabouts. Cold cold snap of winter, they were hungry I guess.
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Just turned a moose antler base for a customer who wanted a "Royal" Cougar whistle....
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49194168408_e530ac28ba.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hX7Yno)RoyalCoug1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hX7Yno) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
Voiced it the same as the basic plain wood calls that I or one of my kids turn for my Cougar Packages. With a little practice it does a great Cougar Whistle.
I've got your regular cougar whistle, it lives on my lanyard and I can make very good whistles from it that sound just like all the youtube whistles :tup: :tup:
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Just turned a moose antler base for a customer who wanted a "Royal" Cougar whistle....
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49194168408_e530ac28ba.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hX7Yno)RoyalCoug1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hX7Yno) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
Voiced it the same as the basic plain wood calls that I or one of my kids turn for my Cougar Packages. With a little practice it does a great Cougar Whistle.
I've got your regular cougar whistle, it lives on my lanyard and I can make very good whistles from it that sound just like all the youtube whistles :tup: :tup:
Ive got it too. Makes a very realistic sound. At first i couldnt get the sound i wanted out of it, but i found that blowing hard into it you can get the whistle just right, its a really cool call, just started using it this season, and its coming with me lion hunting every time now to use after im done making fawn noises. One more ace up the sleeve to have for anybody targeting lions. Replicates the whistle very well.
Not a valid vimeo URL
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Ya, I do an initial burst of air at a pretty high pressure then quickly reduce the pressure, I kinda do a wEEEeeeew and it comes out nice, it takes practice to get the high pitch then immediate trailing pitch, and now I can prolong the trailing part of the whistle to wEEEeeeeeeewwww for a more begging type call, sometimes I'll throw in a bit of gravel on the end from my voice and the trailing part of the whistle will get a bit of rasp to it.
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Ya, I do an initial burst of air at a pretty high pressure then quickly reduce the pressure, I kinda do a wEEEeeeew and it comes out nice, it takes practice to get the high pitch then immediate trailing pitch
:yeah:
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Bango any chance that's the lion that attacked your buck? Just curious that would be a cool story and make for a unique taxidermy opportunity.
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Very good chance. Same area. I like to think its the one. Got my coyote a couple days earlier in the same area too. I figure if a guy is going to try to thin out some predators he may as well do it where he hunts deer.
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Very good chance. Same area. I like to think its the one. Got my coyote a couple days earlier in the same area too. I figure if a guy is going to try to thin out some predators he may as well do it where he hunts deer.
There's that male too you thought mighta been near when you got that girl in your avatar, but then the male mighta killed the buck too
so ya, I'd go with it
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Yeah, more than 1 lion around there, but it makes me feel good to think i got the culprit, so im going to go with that. Now next year i need to stick an arrow in the buck that busted up my bucks rack, and the universe will be right again. :chuckle:
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I had a very young Bull Moose walk right through my calling set a couple days ago. His antlers were barely visible and he didn't look anywhere but straight ahead, didn't stop. this was in the Blues.
In 11 days of calling so far I have only found one set of cougar tracks in all my favorite places. But LOTS of wolf tracks and sightings of a single and 2 sperate pairs. A WDFW employee told me the Touchet Pack had 6 pups this year....how is that old song? Summertime and the livin' is easy
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We'll see, Gramps. I don't agree with scorched earth eradication, but I think wolves should be shot (at least shot AT) whenever they're in range. This protection and proliferation is just a bad bad idea. Both in numbers and in socialization. I dread the "wait and see what happens" management approach to wolves.
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If you're finding a ton of wolf tracks try getting higher up on the ridges and rocks
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We'll see, Gramps. I don't agree with scorched earth eradication, but I think wolves should be shot (at least shot AT) whenever they're in range. This protection and proliferation is just a bad bad idea. Both in numbers and in socialization. I dread the "wait and see what happens" management approach to wolves.
I agree. It used to be a thrill to see one or sign of one. Now it just turns my gut
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Somebody (who shall remain nameless, who just killed a Cougar with an ivory call) requested an Ivory Cougar Whistle!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49205980677_4633fe241b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hYavKc)SlagCall2 (https://flic.kr/p/2hYavKc) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49205778486_9737f8b9d6.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hY9tD9)SlagCall1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hY9tD9) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
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Sweet!
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My crew is pretty good at whistling cougars.
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So all I’d tell my girlfriend I want for Christmas is your cougar calling set up, any chance you can spoil it and let me know if a calls been shipped to Republic? If not I’ll have an order after Christmas. Cut 4 tracks in the fresh snow searching for elk, seems like the cats were too!
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Somebody (who shall remain nameless, who just killed a Cougar with an ivory call) requested an Ivory Cougar Whistle!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49205980677_4633fe241b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hYavKc)SlagCall2 (https://flic.kr/p/2hYavKc) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49205778486_9737f8b9d6.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hY9tD9)SlagCall1 (https://flic.kr/p/2hY9tD9) by Steve Tormala (https://www.flickr.com/photos/142732471@N06/), on Flickr
Cant wait to try it out, but i guess ill have to. Stuck in seattle for a couple more days. But when i get home, a friend is chomping at the bit to get a lion, and come january ill be calling lions and wolves in idaho, so ill get a chance to break that call in soon. Thanks again, looks awesome.
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That is awesome
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So all I’d tell my girlfriend I want for Christmas is your cougar calling set up, any chance you can spoil it and let me know if a calls been shipped to Republic? If not I’ll have an order after Christmas. Cut 4 tracks in the fresh snow searching for elk, seems like the cats were too!
:chuckle: :dunno: :chuckle:
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All I found were bob tracks everywhere
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191213/fb796ea5f6aa37c5036a14c5cc3dbd7e.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191213/50d3546270f791d5ff62fd38e62703a7.jpg)
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All I found were bob tracks everywhere
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191213/fb796ea5f6aa37c5036a14c5cc3dbd7e.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191213/50d3546270f791d5ff62fd38e62703a7.jpg)
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Thats what ill be out lookin for saturday morning.
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Got on a nice lion track, looked to be a nice big female and no cubs following her. So I started trailing her.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191214/e318924919d72098c09d94f808d2d141.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191214/90dcd6ed776f103c3d95ae2be5627358.jpg)
Got down in the woods a good ways, it was hella fresh track
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191214/2de2231e3fbed6fcceb4c2f3a83496e1.jpg)
I was trying to get a since of where it was as going, but appeared to be hunting or just milling around aimlessly
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191214/18cda6100edef10b556336d0126cbebd.jpg)
So I started looking for a good place to setup, kinda half way following the lion
Danget! I went to far in trailing it
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191214/00da722f6c3a02053839ed3ea28d8ee6.jpg)
Not hard to see what she was doing when I came busting up on her trail :chuckle:
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191214/68d3950e4c8cf8e741f279b39a94ec61.jpg)
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She was making snow angels.......
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It didn't look like she busted out hard, thought she mighta not been sure what I was so I tried to call; I thought about charging down on her making a ton of noise to see if I could get her up a tree. decided that'd be a good way to bust my one good knee :bash:
so I went down a ways and off to the side and tried calling. no response. tried a chirp whistle, nada
So I went down to the bottom of the ravine I thought she may have fled down and got in front of her, about an hour later set up another call site. nada
drove a big circle around the area, she never crossed a road. To bad I gotta work in the morning
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Close, but no cigar.👍
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Damn, too bad ya jumped it before calling. Ill be out looking for fresh bob tracks today.
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I jumped one off the road in a heavy snowfall once. I don’t think they’re far ahead in that kind of scenario, but I think the calling jig is up.
(If you have the legs and lungs for it, it’s time to hike hard on their track. Takes a mountain athlete - which I haven’t been since the 90’s! - but I think it’s effective. That’s one of the reasons I wanna get non-calling boot hunt stories on my website.)
I overtracked one with Rick from Buck Canyon on Roosevelt one time too... and I knew it!
I realized it and I broke hard right and got out of the timber onto the benches overlooking the lake. Sure enough, there it was, about 100yd, two benches down, loping away.
Almost got that one. Shot just over its back as it did that real undulating loping jog they do. Then it was into new brush and timber, started sneaking then too, doubling back, 90 degree turns around obstacles... they’re amazing sneakers.
I broke off and let it go. Fresh snow. If I was alone I might have humped on that ones tracks, but my boys were up the hill with Rick, and there was patches of private land below... I gave up.
Great hunt, KF!
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When I jumped it, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't think I could tree it or run it down with a bum knee and being in Dad bod, office rat shape :chuckle:
fawn bleat?
angry WT calls?
Cougar Whistles?
So I ended up doing a fawn bleat then when it didn't show up pretty quickly I swapped to Cougar whistles. I didn't hear a thing with the foxpro "RS live whistle" which I tend to hit the mute button on a lot cause I think it calls too frequently if you just let it play...then tracked down a bit further to see if it had circled me...nope.
Then I swapped to the cougar whistle from Rainshadow blowing it manually and I *think* I heard a response but my hearing in those frequencies suck to say the least.
So I sat for another 20 min or so occasionally blowing the whistle trying to mimic some of those youtube cougar whistling video's from trail cameras. Nothing showed, that's when I went back up got in the truck and went down below the cat thinking it was making its way down and out of the timbered plateau I was on to the creek bottom.
made a stand where I thought it would come out, nothing.
It was fun!
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I jumped one off the road in a heavy snowfall once. I don’t think they’re far ahead in that kind of scenario, but I think the calling jig is up.
I think next time I cut a blazing fresh track I'm not going to follow it in so far, maybe keep driving 1/4 to 1/2 a mile up the road from the tracks, then walk back and call almost from the road. Maybe climb a knob if there's one close but I'm not going down in after it until I've made an initial call from no more than about 30-50 yards off the road where I cut the track.
I've followed lions plenty of times before, cut sign then follow the tracks for miles and never did find the end, but that track/s was more of a bee line than this track.
I should have known when I was thinking "where the heck is this cat going?" I asked myself, as it was meandering around. So I should have stopped and called, but the area wasn't ideal for calling unless you want it in your lap!
So I was looking for a good area to call when I found that cougar snow angel, and the gig was up.
I caulked this up to a lesson learned.
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When I jumped it, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't think I could tree it or run it down with a bum knee and being in Dad bod, office rat shape :chuckle:
fawn bleat?
angry WT calls?
Cougar Whistles?
So I ended up doing a fawn bleat then when it didn't show up pretty quickly I swapped to Cougar whistles. I didn't hear a thing with the foxpro "RS live whistle" which I tend to hit the mute button on a lot cause I think it calls too frequently if you just let it play...then tracked down a bit further to see if it had circled me...nope.
Then I swapped to the cougar whistle from Rainshadow blowing it manually and I *think* I heard a response but my hearing in those frequencies suck to say the least.
So I sat for another 20 min or so occasionally blowing the whistle trying to mimic some of those youtube cougar whistling video's from trail cameras. Nothing showed, that's when I went back up got in the truck and went down below the cat thinking it was making its way down and out of the timbered plateau I was on to the creek bottom.
made a stand where I thought it would come out, nothing.
It was fun!
Did you get the offer I made to send former customers "S Live Whistles"? Live whistles is real time, but it is young excited and begging. I decided to slow it way down. So I made the "S" version. Send me an email I'll send you a link.
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When I jumped it, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't think I could tree it or run it down with a bum knee and being in Dad bod, office rat shape :chuckle:
fawn bleat?
angry WT calls?
Cougar Whistles?
So I ended up doing a fawn bleat then when it didn't show up pretty quickly I swapped to Cougar whistles. I didn't hear a thing with the foxpro "RS live whistle" which I tend to hit the mute button on a lot cause I think it calls too frequently if you just let it play...then tracked down a bit further to see if it had circled me...nope.
Then I swapped to the cougar whistle from Rainshadow blowing it manually and I *think* I heard a response but my hearing in those frequencies suck to say the least.
So I sat for another 20 min or so occasionally blowing the whistle trying to mimic some of those youtube cougar whistling video's from trail cameras. Nothing showed, that's when I went back up got in the truck and went down below the cat thinking it was making its way down and out of the timbered plateau I was on to the creek bottom.
made a stand where I thought it would come out, nothing.
It was fun!
You can always set up and call, then if nothing, you can move further up the track. First cat I had in the scope I did that based on how far the sound would travel. (I have a video link on the call-in story page.) It came in at 1h:10m.
I've come across the snow melt bed before too. I tracked past it and it went right up a wall, so I decided to drive around, even though the next road was about 2 miles away... sure enough the tracks crossed. That set of tracks went over 7 miles in a straight line across three huge ridges in one night. I never caught up to it. But the only place it meandered was right before the bed.
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I have heard them more vocal than rs whistle. I was starting to get sleepy from being too still for too long when I noticed way too much noise. Hit pause and that cat talked for 20 min non stop while I strained my eyes desperately trying to see the cat. Never did lay eyes on it
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New fawn bleat
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191219/8deb2d9b5f76e6ea23e6792281eea3b1.jpg)
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New fawn bleat
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191219/8deb2d9b5f76e6ea23e6792281eea3b1.jpg)
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I've seen that bleat. Waiting on a fresh batch from a call maker referred to me by Bango so I can pick one. Here is a good question for the experienced hand callers. There is a sweet red call that I really like but was thinking it would be wiser to go with earthy tones if it's hanging from my neck. What would be the consensus here?
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Get the color call you like. Little movements will get you busted long before a red call. Its a non issue i would think.
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That call is awesome! Very cool, who made it?
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That call is awesome! Very cool, who made it?
Turkeyrivercalls.com
Youre on predatormasters, right? Hes BMeyer.
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Oh I’ve got one of his, girlfriend got it for me thinking it was a predator call and we found out it’s actually tuned for elk haha. I’ll have to look at his new ones, the panels are pretty cool.
Nope, just checked I was wrong. I wish I had one of his. I love carved calls, those are awesome!
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Ya, got to use it today it sounds great, nice to hold and got some heft to it, and doesnt sound plasticky
Its on the lanyard with a Phelps, two RR calls, and a rainshadow call
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Rumor has it that so far none of the ne units have hit their quotas.
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Same rumor for the NW part of the Blues
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Maybe a couple will stay open through april, and i can start trying to notch my 2020 tag come april 1st. :dunno:
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Rumor has it that so far none of the ne units have hit their quotas.
I find it hard to believe every unit hasn’t gone over there quota all ready. unless people just aren’t getting cats sealed. My region goes at least 3x over the quota by the end of December. Are all the fish and game killed problem cats not counted? That alone would tip over our quota.
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I believe at this time, wdfw problem cats do NOT count towards quota........
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Rumor has it that so far none of the ne units have hit their quotas.
I find it hard to believe every unit hasn’t gone over there quota all ready. unless people just aren’t getting cats sealed. My region goes at least 3x over the quota by the end of December. Are all the fish and game killed problem cats not counted? That alone would tip over our quota.
No, those dont count.
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Rumor has it that so far none of the ne units have hit their quotas.
I find it hard to believe every unit hasn’t gone over there quota all ready. unless people just aren’t getting cats sealed. My region goes at least 3x over the quota by the end of December. Are all the fish and game killed problem cats not counted? That alone would tip over our quota.
No, those dont count.
Every year I hear that they don't count, but I believe they do.
All cougars killed by licensed hunters during the early and late hunting seasons, and seasons authorized under WAC 220-440-030 shall be counted toward the harvest guideline.
Here's a link
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
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So with quotas meet from problem cougar,and hunters.I would expect a lot of quotas at max ,gmu's shut down on the Jan 1,2020
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Rumor has it that so far none of the ne units have hit their quotas.
I find it hard to believe every unit hasn’t gone over there quota all ready. unless people just aren’t getting cats sealed. My region goes at least 3x over the quota by the end of December. Are all the fish and game killed problem cats not counted? That alone would tip over our quota.
No, those dont count.
Every year I hear that they don't count, but I believe they do.
All cougars killed by licensed hunters during the early and late hunting seasons, and seasons authorized under WAC 220-440-030 shall be counted toward the harvest guideline.
Here's a link
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
depredations are not "licensed hunters" or "seasons" im absolutely 100% positive that they dont count.
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So with quotas meet from problem cougar,and hunters.I would expect a lot of quotas at max ,gmu's shut down on the Jan 1,2020
Every single one would be every single year. Depredation removals do not count.
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I didn't end up going out, sat up all night hacking up my lungs.
I think I had something come in last friday, but I got in a coughing fit and busted . but I can't confirm I didn't go up looking at tracks after coughing during a stand
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Aw the dreaded cough. Ruined many of hunts for me
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Rumor has it that so far none of the ne units have hit their quotas.
I find it hard to believe every unit hasn’t gone over there quota all ready. unless people just aren’t getting cats sealed. My region goes at least 3x over the quota by the end of December. Are all the fish and game killed problem cats not counted? That alone would tip over our quota.
No, those dont count.
Every year I hear that they don't count, but I believe they do.
All cougars killed by licensed hunters during the early and late hunting seasons, and seasons authorized under WAC 220-440-030 shall be counted toward the harvest guideline.
Here's a link
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
depredations are not "licensed hunters" or "seasons" im absolutely 100% positive that they dont count.
So your positive.
Go to this link
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
Then it says
All cougars killed by licensed hunters during the early and late hunting seasons, and seasons authorized under WAC 220-440-030 shall be counted toward the harvest guideline.
Then this link will show that wac 220-440-030
Are problem cougars removed.
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=220-440-030
When the WDFW gives a hound permit,or property owner depredation permits its pretty much giving them a season authorized under wac 220-440-030 for cougar safety removal that counts towards quota believe it or not.
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Yes im positive. You dont have to believe me if you dont want to. And i get the impression youre grossly underestimating the number of depredation removals going on if you think theyre counting them toward the harvest quotas. Maybe they can but theyre currently not doing so.
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There are a lot more than quota numbers killed by depredation hunts
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There are a lot more than quota numbers killed by depredation hunts
Yup. There would never be any ne unit open past dec 31st if they were applying depredation removals to the harvest guidelines. Certainly not this year. This is a record year for depredations. Even a game warden, who seems to me they dont generally tend to talk about these things, told me theyve been absolutely hammering the cats this year. As of august there had already been more lethal removals this year than there was for the entire calendar year of 2018.
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There are a lot more than quota numbers killed by depredation hunts
Yup. There would never be any ne unit open past dec 31st if they were applying depredation removals to the harvest guidelines.
They pretty much close it every year Jan 1, have you ever seen a NE unit open till April since the quotas.
I'm not sure where you guys get your info.But each cougar incident is recorded on the WDFW website I can provide link if you guys like.Most are cougar sighting,or warden provides info of how to deal with living with wildlife .It pretty much gives you the report,if cat,dog,livestock damage,and if hounds or depredation permit,and if they killed a cat which is a lot lower than you might think .These reports are for the whole state.For the whole year,and up to fours years back.
When you go to WDFW to look at map first you have to get to just 2019,than you have to click on the star location a report for that location comes up at bottom of map ,than this is the most important part you have to read the report for each time a warden is called for cougar incident.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/dangerous-wildlife/reports
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
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There are a lot more than quota numbers killed by depredation hunts
Yup. There would never be any ne unit open past dec 31st if they were applying depredation removals to the harvest guidelines.
They pretty much close it every year Jan 1, have you ever seen a NE unit open till April since the quotas.
I'm not sure where you guys get your info.But each cougar incident is recorded on the WDFW website I can provide link if you guys like.Most are cougar sighting,or warden provides info of how to deal with living with wildlife .It pretty much gives you the report,if cat,dog,livestock damage,and if hounds or depredation permit,and if they killed a cat which is a lot lower than you might think .These reports are for the whole state.For the whole year,and up to fours years back.
When you go to WDFW to look at map first you have to get to just 2019,than you have to click on the star location a report for that location comes up at bottom of map ,than this is the most important part you have to read the report for each time a warden is called for cougar incident.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/dangerous-wildlife/reports
cant remember if it was last winter or winter before, 113 stayed open through april
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
I didnt say im "so sure" that everything will stay open into january this year, just that thats the rumor. I am so sure though, that depredstion removals dont count toward the qed uotas, except for those where the landowner chooses to put their tag on the animal.
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
I didnt say im "so sure" that everything will stay open into january this year, just that thats the rumor. I am so sure though, that depredstion removals dont count toward the qed uotas, except for those where the landowner chooses to put their tag on the animal.
I pretty sure a few units will stay open.Just cause cat removal was low in some units.
Depredation cat removal counting towards quotas it been that way for years since they started quotas.It has always said it on there website.Unless you have some kind of info besides rumor .I have to believe what there website says.Wardens just call the houndsman if needed and make a report Its our friends on the Westside WDFW that wright the rules or count towards quota.
Honestly I don't wanna argue with ya ,your a stand up guy,You have had a hell of season.
Looks like you do your part in the predator department helping out wildlife.Pretty much Got us two bear tags , and seeing your kills\acomplishmimts is a great thing.
With that said Good luck on your upcoming hunts .I will agree to disagree .I'm out on this topic.
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First couple years of the quota's they closed a lot more than this last year and perhaps the year prior, we've had what 4 years of quotas?
Something changed half way through.
I think they quit counting state kills of cougar towards the quota, but obviously still count them for other reasons.
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
What did I say that you disagree with? @hunter399
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Anybody done any calling in Capitol Forest near Olympia? I've been there many times over the years looking for turkey and it seems like prime lion territory. Lots of deer sign over the years. I was considering doing lion hunting while early scouting for easterns.
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Anybody done any calling in Capitol Forest near Olympia? I've been there many times over the years looking for turkey and it seems like prime lion territory. Lots of deer sign over the years. I was considering doing lion hunting while early scouting for easterns.
I've thought about hunting up there but I haven't done it yet. There are lots of sightings up there and also a lot of depredation on the boundaries. I think it would be a great spot to go. I just don't like the crowd numbers and have spots that have been producing well so I haven't bothered to go that direction. It would definitely be worth looking for tracks in the snow.
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
I didnt say im "so sure" that everything will stay open into january this year, just that thats the rumor. I am so sure though, that depredstion removals dont count toward the qed uotas, except for those where the landowner chooses to put their tag on the animal.
I pretty sure a few units will stay open.Just cause cat removal was low in some units.
Depredation cat removal counting towards quotas it been that way for years since they started quotas.It has always said it on there website.Unless you have some kind of info besides rumor .I have to believe what there website says.Wardens just call the houndsman if needed and make a report Its our friends on the Westside WDFW that wright the rules or count towards quota.
Honestly I don't wanna argue with ya ,your a stand up guy,You have had a hell of season.
Looks like you do your part in the predator department helping out wildlife.Pretty much Got us two bear tags , and seeing your kills\acomplishmimts is a great thing.
With that said Good luck on your upcoming hunts .I will agree to disagree .I'm out on this topic.
Is this good enough for you?? I told you i was absolutely positive, didnt i? I wouldnt say i was positive if i was just pretty sure. Just emailed this morning and got the reply already. He is the wdfw game division manager and previously the large carnivore section manager. Pretty sure he knows what hes saying. This is straight from the horses mouth.
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And am I crazy or was this not hashed out last year and discussed?
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
I didnt say im "so sure" that everything will stay open into january this year, just that thats the rumor. I am so sure though, that depredstion removals dont count toward the qed uotas, except for those where the landowner chooses to put their tag on the animal.
I pretty sure a few units will stay open.Just cause cat removal was low in some units.
Depredation cat removal counting towards quotas it been that way for years since they started quotas.It has always said it on there website.Unless you have some kind of info besides rumor .I have to believe what there website says.Wardens just call the houndsman if needed and make a report Its our friends on the Westside WDFW that wright the rules or count towards quota.
Honestly I don't wanna argue with ya ,your a stand up guy,You have had a hell of season.
Looks like you do your part in the predator department helping out wildlife.Pretty much Got us two bear tags , and seeing your kills\acomplishmimts is a great thing.
With that said Good luck on your upcoming hunts .I will agree to disagree .I'm out on this topic.
Is this good enough for you?? I told you i was absolutely positive, didnt i? I wouldnt say i was positive if i was just pretty sure. Just emailed this morning and got the reply already. He is the wdfw game division manager and previously the large carnivore section manager. Pretty sure he knows what hes saying. This is straight from the horses mouth.
All I'm gonna say is you have way to much trust in WDFW.
Why don't ya email him back and ask him ,To change the wording on the website where it say it does count and see what his response is.
Since you trust his word so much.
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Wow. You just really dont like to admit that youre wrong. Whatever, think what you want.
Its not just one guys word im trusting either. But whatever.
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399 you posted a link to wdfw as your source, my guy :dunno:
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:chuckle:
399 you posted a link to wdfw as your source, my guy :dunno:
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So now you guys know what I know.And you guys sound so sure the NE Washington will be open for cougars.
I guess we will see.
@Bango spank
@Jonathan_s
I didnt say im "so sure" that everything will stay open into january this year, just that thats the rumor. I am so sure though, that depredstion removals dont count toward the qed uotas, except for those where the landowner chooses to put their tag on the animal.
I pretty sure a few units will stay open.Just cause cat removal was low in some units.
Depredation cat removal counting towards quotas it been that way for years since they started quotas.It has always said it on there website.Unless you have some kind of info besides rumor .I have to believe what there website says.Wardens just call the houndsman if needed and make a report Its our friends on the Westside WDFW that wright the rules or count towards quota.
Honestly I don't wanna argue with ya ,your a stand up guy,You have had a hell of season.
Looks like you do your part in the predator department helping out wildlife.Pretty much Got us two bear tags , and seeing your kills\acomplishmimts is a great thing.
With that said Good luck on your upcoming hunts .I will agree to disagree .I'm out on this topic.
Is this good enough for you?? I told you i was absolutely positive, didnt i? I wouldnt say i was positive if i was just pretty sure. Just emailed this morning and got the reply already. He is the wdfw game division manager and previously the large carnivore section manager. Pretty sure he knows what hes saying. This is straight from the horses mouth.
All I'm gonna say is you have way to much trust in WDFW.
Why don't ya email him back and ask him ,To change the wording on the website where it say it does count and see what his response is.
Since you trust his word so much.
Where does it say it counts? Im trying to find it but dont see it.
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Wow. You just really dont like to admit that youre wrong. Whatever, think what you want.
Its not just one guys word im trusting either. But whatever.
You might be forgeting or maybe your not old enough I'm not sure which.But there was a time when we hunted them till March without quotas.
With that said.
X= amount of cougar for the whole state Which nobody really knows so it's a joke.
X=amount of harvest each year /May it be depredations-or legal harvest.
WDFW have the rules wrote in there favor to close it whenever there harvest is reached.Depredations/or legal harvest .
Don't be mad at me that's just the way it is whether you like it or not.
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I just gave you an answer directly from the game division manager. Even aside from what he says, i know 100% that they are not counting depredation removals. Im not mad, youre just flat out wrong. And your stubborness and refusal to admit that youre wrong is just making you look like a fool. Just stop.
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Wow. You just really dont like to admit that youre wrong. Whatever, think what you want.
Its not just one guys word im trusting either. But whatever.
You might be forgeting or maybe your not old enough I'm not sure which.But there was a time when we hunted them till March without quotas.
With that said.
X= amount of cougar for the whole state Which nobody really knows so it's a joke.
X=amount of harvest each year /May it be depredations-or legal harvest.
WDFW have the rules wrote in there favor to close it whenever there harvest is reached.Depredations/or legal harvest .
Don't be mad at me that's just the way it is whether you like it or not.
399 as far as i can tell if its not tagged its not a harvest. Just like if one got whacked by a car it wouldnt be counted towards quota
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Wow. You just really dont like to admit that youre wrong. Whatever, think what you want.
Its not just one guys word im trusting either. But whatever.
You might be forgeting or maybe your not old enough I'm not sure which.But there was a time when we hunted them till March without quotas.
With that said.
X= amount of cougar for the whole state Which nobody really knows so it's a joke.
X=amount of harvest each year /May it be depredations-or legal harvest.
WDFW have the rules wrote in there favor to close it whenever there harvest is reached.Depredations/or legal harvest .
Don't be mad at me that's just the way it is whether you like it or not.
399 as far as i can tell if its not tagged its not a harvest. Just like if one got whacked by a car it wouldnt be counted towards quota
If he wont listen to the game division manager i doubt hell listen to you either. He wants to believe that this imaginary injustice exists. As if there arent enough real ways that the game department actually is screwing us.
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Wow. You just really dont like to admit that youre wrong. Whatever, think what you want.
Its not just one guys word im trusting either. But whatever.
You might be forgeting or maybe your not old enough I'm not sure which.But there was a time when we hunted them till March without quotas.
With that said.
X= amount of cougar for the whole state Which nobody really knows so it's a joke.
X=amount of harvest each year /May it be depredations-or legal harvest.
WDFW have the rules wrote in there favor to close it whenever there harvest is reached.Depredations/or legal harvest .
Don't be mad at me that's just the way it is whether you like it or not.
399 as far as i can tell if its not tagged its not a harvest. Just like if one got whacked by a car it wouldnt be counted towards quota
Well wardens are allowing property owner to tag them,according to bango those don't count towards quotas too.
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Never said i was certain about the depredations thst get tagged. I wouldnt be surprised either way. Ive never looked into that part of it before. That email response i got made it sound like those dont count either, but his wording didnt leave me completely confident in that. I intend to look into it more, becauseci want to know for certain. But the normal depredation removals, the ones that dont end up being kept by the landowners, im positive do not count.
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Wow. You just really dont like to admit that youre wrong. Whatever, think what you want.
Its not just one guys word im trusting either. But whatever.
You might be forgeting or maybe your not old enough I'm not sure which.But there was a time when we hunted them till March without quotas.
With that said.
X= amount of cougar for the whole state Which nobody really knows so it's a joke.
X=amount of harvest each year /May it be depredations-or legal harvest.
WDFW have the rules wrote in there favor to close it whenever there harvest is reached.Depredations/or legal harvest .
Don't be mad at me that's just the way it is whether you like it or not.
399 as far as i can tell if its not tagged its not a harvest. Just like if one got whacked by a car it wouldnt be counted towards quota
If he wont listen to the game division manager i doubt hell listen to you either. He wants to believe that this imaginary injustice exists. As if there arent enough real ways that the game department actually is screwing us.
All I can say is he can send you a email today,and change his mind tommorow and count them just like the WDFW website says they do.You might be over trusting him.Maybe that's something you can get changed. :dunno:
Why don't you tell the horse to change what it says on there website.Where it says they do count.
It was wrote that way for a reason , one year might have very little depredation - Well where not gonna count them.The next year can be explosion of depredations -we have to count them .It gives your horse the power to do what he see fit from a year to year basis.
But if you think it's wrote in stone that they don't count them when it clearly says on there web-site they do .
You clearly can't read between the lines or lies that is the WDFW.
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Bango skank is absolutely 100% correct. I had two depredation cougars this year.
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This has been 3 straight pages arguing about wdfw policy on the cougar calling thread. Im done, dont care if people dont believe what im saying. This is a thread about calling lions, not arguing what wdfws policy is. Thst crap belongs here. https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=242231.new#new
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This has been 3 straight pages arguing about wdfw policy on the cougar calling thread. Im done, dont care if people dont believe what im saying. This is a thread about calling lions, not arguing what wdfws policy is.
With that said.
I was out today walking around.Snow is very crunchy .Did one calling set ,no takers.I cut one set of cougar tracks looked to be from about a week ago when the snow was soft.Didn't really see any yote tracks in the area .But snow so hard they can walk on top of course.I will be out the next few days with gmu possible closed.So just trying to get a few days in.Maybe in between snow storms I will find fresh tracks maybe.
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More snow coming Tuesday. Last min for most areas I’m sure
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Ill be calling cougars again in 3 1/2 days. I may or may not make an attempt or two to call in a bob tomorrow morning.
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Just pulled the trigger on a custom fawn bleat. The red one 8) Can't wait for it to get here. Can't wait for the snow either. It's nice to have clear roads but not cutting tracks. I might just head into the forest and do some cold stands while scouting.
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Just pulled the trigger on a custom fawn bleat. The red one 8) Can't wait for it to get here. Can't wait for the snow either. It's nice to have clear roads but not cutting tracks. I might just head into the forest and do some cold stands while scouting.
My call settled down after a while, at first it was pretty raspy and chirpy, but now it's smoooooth and sounds great!
There seems to be a break in period.
@Bango skank did you notice a break in period?
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Nope. Just gotta play with them and find the right air pressure to use to get the right yone, and slightly blocking the front with your hand can change the tone significantly too. And they can still make good rabbit squaley noises too if ya put more wind into them.
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huh, maybe I just got better with it because it seems smoother now then when I first got it. I assume he and all other call makers just use pretty much the same guts, all you're buying is the art. I like the dense wood over plastic so you definatly get different resonation...like your call is going to sound different than mine even with the same internals.
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What kind of tracks are these?
Went out to do some calling this afternoon and discovered a few things.
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So went out today and found this deer dead ,all cat tracks lots of bobcat tracks which were smaller than the one pic above .Then one set of tracks from pic above , So instead of calling I started following those tracks.No coyotes tracks around kill site but coyotes in the area for sure.Few times about 1/2 mile from kill site tracks above got intersected with coyote tracks.Then I started finding blood in the tracks above followed for about a mile maybe more intell they left public land.But then circled out planing on going back at first light set the Fox pro out .Good idea or not.
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Those are cougar tracks, good chance you might see the cat when it comes back to the kill, if it hasn't been spooked out of the area, right before dark in the evening is an excellent time, the sooner you can get on the cat the better, I'm thinking your local coyotes will clean up that kill quickly since it's not hidden.
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Those are cougar tracks, good chance you might see the cat when it comes back to the kill, if it hasn't been spooked out of the area, right before dark in the evening is an excellent time, the sooner you can get on the cat the better, I'm thinking your local coyotes will clean up that kill quickly since it's not hidden.
Do you think I should call,or just sit on that kill site.Snow is three days old , and only the one set of cougar tracks .But a lot of bobcat ,looked like a whole litter of bobcat been going to it the past three days.
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So help me to get straight. You guys hunting cougar by your self? And calling cat to come at you not decoy? Thanks
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So help me to get straight. You guys hunting cougar by your self? And calling cat to come at you not decoy? Thanks
Yessir.
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:yeah:
and it is very exciting to know one has fooled a very large predator
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So help me to get straight. You guys hunting cougar by your self? And calling cat to come at you not decoy? Thanks
Yessir.
Thanks, make me feel a lot less about myself.
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So help me to get straight. You guys hunting cougar by your self? And calling cat to come at you not decoy? Thanks
Yessir.
Thanks, make me feel a lot less about myself.
Just go for it. You probably wont get eaten.
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Those are cougar tracks, good chance you might see the cat when it comes back to the kill, if it hasn't been spooked out of the area, right before dark in the evening is an excellent time, the sooner you can get on the cat the better, I'm thinking your local coyotes will clean up that kill quickly since it's not hidden.
Do you think I should call,or just sit on that kill site.Snow is three days old , and only the one set of cougar tracks .But a lot of bobcat ,looked like a whole litter of bobcat been going to it the past three days.
Hopefully your sitting on it, I wouldnt call just sit and wait. Little late now I guess, hopefully your skinning it!
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
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Those are cougar tracks, good chance you might see the cat when it comes back to the kill, if it hasn't been spooked out of the area, right before dark in the evening is an excellent time, the sooner you can get on the cat the better, I'm thinking your local coyotes will clean up that kill quickly since it's not hidden.
Do you think I should call,or just sit on that kill site.Snow is three days old , and only the one set of cougar tracks .But a lot of bobcat ,looked like a whole litter of bobcat been going to it the past three days.
Hopefully your sitting on it, I wouldnt call just sit and wait. Little late now I guess, hopefully your skinning it!
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Oh, I'd call on it. Definitely. Submissive cougar vocals, like the whistle. Nothing aggressive, but definitely vocals, and I'd definitely call. Nearby, not right on it.
Looks like tons of predator pressure in the area, it might not hang around. But it's a good opportunity right away, and if you go in and set up right, calling won't blow anything, it'll just speed things along!
Also, on the fawn bleat, several of the loud voice double reeds make a great fawn bleat, especially the way I blade the first reed over the second one, but you have to blow it gently and mournfully. Same exact reed makes a great raspy panicky loud distress when you go crazy on it!
Liter pic is definitely a lion, but a smaller one... unless it's a big bic! Tiny spots of blood in the tracks is kinda common in snow. Weird, I know, but it's not unusual at all.
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I wish I was skinning it.Like said followed tracks to where they left public land.I will be heading back there at first light .Maybe I will do both ,first sit on it a few hour at dawn,then if nothing seen I will move like a 1/4 mile away and see if I can bring something to me sounds like I better spend most of the day.I will see if I can take a different approach some snow was a little crunchy.Try to take it quiet going in.I have some cougar sounds on my Fox pro but no sure if that would be any good.I do have some hand calls for the fawn bleat.
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Sounds encouraging:) Now I need couples hand calls to cover cougar/bear/yote and learn how to use them :) ;)
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So help me to get straight. You guys hunting cougar by your self? And calling cat to come at you not decoy? Thanks
Yessir.
Thanks, make me feel a lot less about myself.
Just go for it. You probably wont get eaten.
Sounds encouraging :) Now I need couples hand calls to cover cougar/bear/yote and learn how to use them :) ;)
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Sounds encouraging:) Now I need couples hand calls to cover cougar/bear/yote and learn how to use them :) ;)
Just read bearpaw's 2019 thread. They climb trees just to check under cougar skirts. Don't try that at home kids.
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Please advise
Where to get info/learn how to call? And who makes best calls?
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Please advise
Where to get info/learn how to call? And who makes best calls?
Good place to start reading here. http://www.rain-shadow.com/prod03.htm
As for which calls to use, any predator call can work. I like calls from rainshadow, bearmanric (called my first cougar in with one of his calls) and turkeyrivercalls.com
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Damn, getting ready to head to idaho tomorrow and cant find my huntonx chip for my gps. Its always been in my center console.. maybe i tossed it on accident while cleaning my truck. Hope the cabelas in post falls has one in stock. I know i saw the chips the last time i was there, but that was several years ago.
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Please advise
Where to get info/learn how to call? And who makes best calls?
Good place to start reading here. http://www.rain-shadow.com/prod03.htm
As for which calls to use, any predator call can work. I like calls from rainshadow, bearmanric (called my first cougar in with one of his calls) and turkeyrivercalls.com
Thank you for heads up. I send e-mail to RR.
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I got 2 myself and bought others as gifts, his calls are good
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My dad went out for a drive in the mountains Saturday and found fresh cougar tracks. He said the tracks looked confusing and there was possibly 2. I went out sunday morning to see if I could make sense of it and try to call one in. I found the tracks, but by the time I was up there, it was raining and 43 degrees so the snow was melting and the tracks were now around 24 hours old. It took a while to make sense but it was definitely 2 cats, roughly the same size. the stride was about 36" so not very big. They looked like they were hunting deer. There were deer tracks that were going down the road. First they would go uphill, then downhill of the road. They were traveling down zig zagging near the road. the cats were walking down the road and there was one spot where one of them left the brush and was leaping. You could see both hind leg tracks with the fronts just outside of them but right infront of them making almost a square. then 15 ft of nothing and the same print then another 15 ft. That was the first time I've seen that, so it was pretty cool.
The snow level is too high here so there were no fresh tracks to be found, but I made a stand downhill where my sound could cover the entire mountain side. Nothing came in. Pretty typical for being a day too late. I've been out quite a few times, but mainly just waiting for some good snow. Nothing exciting happening yet.
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Damn, getting ready to head to idaho tomorrow and cant find my huntonx chip for my gps. Its always been in my center console.. maybe i tossed it on accident while cleaning my truck. Hope the cabelas in post falls has one in stock. I know i saw the chips the last time i was there, but that was several years ago.
they getting the snow we getting up here it's gonna be a sketchy hunt
I was out early this AM and it snowed way too much to see anything, if there was a track it was covered up in an hour
I still tried, but I needed the snowmobile. Hope 105 101 stay open but I think my season my be over tomorrow :'(
for WA anyways.
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Didn't make it out today too much snow plowing to do.
Wish I could go tommorow.I'm sure 121,or 117 will be closed.I'm going to mix a monster engery tea+lemonade+tequila at about 11 or 11:30 kiss my wife at 12 then check cougar quotas at 12:01 and get drunk cause I won't be able to go hunt cougar no more.
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Blowing sideways up here(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191231/9da15a40dee961f5bf048c17b94c122d.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191231/d083bad93801d658767aa3aad6e59bfe.jpg)
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101,105, 113, 117 open.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
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So, when you handcall a cougar, what average
distance they appear? Thank you
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Bango likes to call in the brush, I like clear cuts as pictured up above. Bango's got 2 in 2 years, I got none.
Ima start calling in the brush too :chuckle:
They get close that way
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So, when you handcall a cougar, what average
distance they appear? Thank you
Check the call-in story page... it's often very close! They come from wherever, but you seeing them before they're in your lap is another thing!
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So, when you handcall a cougar, what average
distance they appear? Thank you
Check the call-in story page... it's often very close! They come from wherever, but you seeing them before they're in your lap is another thing!
I have to learn how to handcall, then I might have chance on wet side to call one.
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I added a second Non-Calling Cougar hunting story today.
NC2, a calling trip that turned into a spot and stalk before the call made the first cry!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
Please send me stories! Anything without hounds!
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I added a second Non-Calling Cougar hunting story today.
NC2, a calling trip that turned into a spot and stalk before the call made the first cry!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
Please send me stories! Anything without hounds!
Stories are awesome! Can’t wait to get your calls and learn how to use it.
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http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
Just posted story # A25
Great experience getting stalked!
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I got the red one. Turkey river calls. Gorgeous wood and a great sound.
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Nice!
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Thank you @rainshadow1
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I wondering what guns you guys use for cougar hunting?
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22-250 here pushing 65 gr SBT
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I like the idea of a deer cartridge. Possibly with varmint bullets, but I like a little thump to it... just in case! I shot one with a 223, I wouldn’t do it on purpose again. I’d do it, but id prefer the 243 any day of the week.
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.223 to the head drops them right now
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I like the idea of a deer cartridge. Possibly with varmint bullets, but I like a little thump to it... just in case! I shot one with a 223, I wouldn’t do it on purpose again. I’d do it, but id prefer the 243 any day of the week.
Whst size / type bullet did you use from the .223, and at what range?
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.223 to the head drops them right now
Be a shame to bust up the skull though.
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Took the 300WSM last weekend. Wanted something stainless for a wet day and in the event of a marginal hit, I like what 30 cals do to deer sized game.
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I'm running .300blk with 110 grain Barnes off the shelf rounds. Just waiting for snow this week to get out and see if my scope fogs up.
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With a 223, I'd be shooting 60 grain partitions or 64 grain Nolser bonded solid base. You don't have to worry about splashes. Plenty of penetration, bullets mushroom perfectly, and you can push them at 2900-3000 in a .223/556.
On a side note they also work great in a 22-250.
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.223 to the head drops them right now
Be a shame to bust up the skull though.
dont recall the size probably 55 gr, not too bad on the skull in above the eye and out the back
I cleaned it myself in a maggot bucket and a 2 minute boil , pick and weak bleach solution to finish
then 2 weeks on roof, then glued the teeth back in
I'll get it down some day from a high inside window sill and snap a picture
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Took the 300WSM last weekend. Wanted something stainless for a wet day and in the event of a marginal hit, I like what 30 cals do to deer sized game.
I wouldnt even call cougars deer sized game. An adult female youre looking at the 100lb range. 150lb is a good mature tom. Id bet most cats people kill here in wa, where no hound hunting doesnt allow selective harvest, are under 120lb.
Ive seen 3 cats hit with a .243, all females, and its been plenty. One was at 200 yards.
The one i shot last month left a bigger exit than i expected, 95 grain federal fusion. Dont know maybe shooting through brush caused the bullet to tumble? But theres a reason i didnt post an atl pic. The liver was hanging outside its body attached to a string of visceral fat. Not pretty. The extremely close range could have had something to do with that though, i dont know. Ill be trying out the .556 with heavy bullets next time. Rifle finally arrived, just waiting on this stupid new background check b.s. hopefully ill get to test it out on some yotes or a bob before 2020 cougar time.
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My cougar calling gun has been a .44 mag carbine, I think it would be good medicine and not leave its liver hanging out?
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My cougar calling gun has been a .44 mag carbine, I think it would be good medicine and not leave its liver hanging out?
Id think its a good choice. I had my .357 marlin in the truck that morning and almost grabbed it. Wish i would have. Would have been better in thst situation not to have a scope, and it would have been damn cool to take the cat with an iron sight lever gun.
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Like @Karl Blanchard told me with an impending .338 build, "overkill is underrated"
I'd take anything I had and have. Anything I shoot well will do for a cougar hunt.
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Well a .300wsm surely wont leave you undergunned
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I like the idea of a deer cartridge. Possibly with varmint bullets, but I like a little thump to it... just in case! I shot one with a 223, I wouldn’t do it on purpose again. I’d do it, but id prefer the 243 any day of the week.
Whst size / type bullet did you use from the .223, and at what range?
55 gr Vmax, 50 yards, in the face, but off center so it skipped off and into the shoulder. Bullet did really well, ended up in the opposite hip, but still required a follow up shot 2 hours and 500 yards later.
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I wondering what guns you guys use for cougar hunting?
22-250, .223, 250-3000
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Cougars are usually not hard to kill (exceptions noted, as with any animal) but without tracking snow, they can be very hard to find once shot. Soft feet on moss or duff leave no sign for most of us to follow unless there is a good blood trail. Use enough gun... and bullet.
IE. Had a hard time finding a cougar hit on snow with a 30-06 180 gr. CorLokt, side to side through about the last rib. It left the open snow and ran into forest with only moss and no snow on the ground. Exit wound plugged by fat. Ditto on another well hit lion using 7mm mag and Swift Sirocco, hit well and recovered but surprisingly hard to find.
I have gone to .243 with 95 grain Nosler Partitions for my cougar calling. We can't control the angle of hit on a called cougar but take what shot it gives us. I want an exit at virtually any body angle but hopefully not too big of an exit. Others choose an entry hole only with fast expansion inside the body and hopefully a quick kill with no trailing. YMMV but for me, a ton of overkill beats an ounce of underkill. :)
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Myself in the off season of deer and elk I always grab my 25\45 for coyotes +cougar but have never shot any coug so by all means no expert.With that said I would use any legal caliber that you shoot the best.That may be your deer rifle or any legal caliber.as long as your sighted in,and ready to drop the hammer it will work.
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That’s what I thought. 7mm rem mag is too big, 7-08 doesn't have scope and I’m selling it, ar not ready yet. Look like weekends I will go out to 454/460 with my ak, will see what I can call in.
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In my experience cats are actually pretty easy to kill, I usually recommend a 223, 243, 30/30, 44 mag, etc, to my hunters, but I'm hunting with hounds and we usually have good shot placement opportunities and worse case scenario we can turn the dogs loose again to find a wounded cougar if we have to, I don't like doing that, we usually track wounded cats ourselves without turning dogs loose again (wounded cats are very hard on hounds).
If you are calling cats, and especially with little or no snow on the ground, tracking a wounded cat that isn't bleeding can be very hard. So I think good advice for callers is "overkill is better than underkill"! I would suggest when calling cats, especially if there is not much snow, use a gun/bullet combination that is going to cause lots of damage and bleeding and hopefully you won't have to track very far. :twocents:
FYI: A gun that is often overlooked is the 12 gauge with #00 buckshot. There probably won't be much bleeding but at close range that is going to kill anything pretty darn quick and it's quick to point and shoot!
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I shot mine with a 160 grain accubond out of a 7mm this year. Hit it in the neck and had no exit. This was at 30 yards. Dead on the spot.
I would lean towards bullets that shed its energy in the animal. This would be the nosler ballistic tips or accubonds or large caliber v maxes. I would stay away from the all copper bullets unless I was shooting to break the front shoulders. Chasing an injured cougar in the thick forest, on foot, just sounds miserable.
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I got mine broadside at 16 yards with a .300 wsm. It was too much gun and it was a large tom. The hair is thin, making it hard to patch the holes. If I didnt have a perfect shot, it could have done some serious damage. I tossed the idea around of a .243 being a better cat round, but decided to build an ar15 chambered in 6.5 grendel. Haven't tried it out yet.
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I got mine broadside at 16 yards with a .300 wsm. It was too much gun and it was a large tom. The hair is thin, making it hard to patch the holes. If I didnt have a perfect shot, it could have done some serious damage. I tossed the idea around of a .243 being a better cat round, but decided to build an ar15 chambered in 6.5 grendel. Haven't tried it out yet.
:tup:
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Just posted another Non-Calling Story...
Archery kill! Encounter with a group of 3!
Story # NC3
http://rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
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Still a lot of gmus open, no new closures since new years.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
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I and a buddy of mine were hunting the same general area separately. We both found tracks from the same cat on the same weekend probably 3 miles apart. The following weekend I hunted sunday and found old tracks but no fresh ones and did a couple of cold stands with no luck. That monday, my buddy went out and cut a real fresh set of tracks. He walked in a ways until he found the tracks coming back the other direction where they turned to his right. He followed them to a torn up spot in the snow and found blood and a gut pile buried in snow limbs and dirt. In hind site, he should have backed out a ways and set up to call. He decided to follow a drag mark up and over a hill where he found a complete elk buried. You could only see the hind legs and an eyeball poking through the dirt. I will share pics later. He then backed off and tried to call. nothing showed up. He got a hold of me and we set up 200-300 yards away in some big timber and called for 95 minutes with no luck. Then we checked the kill and found out the cat had not been back. We put 2 trail cameras on it and left it undisturbed. Two days later he returned alone and did the same thing with no luck. No return. We tried the same thing saturday and again, nothing. We started looking over his pictures and determined the cat way laying next to the kill and he more than likely bumped the cat. We haven't been back since saturday. He will be going back saturday to call and look at the cameras. Then put fresh batteries in just to catch the scavengers. At this point I believe it's a lost cause.
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It might drop by to check it, but it's not there tending it anymore. They're easy to push off. (They let wolves run them off, I've seen video.)
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It might drop by to check it, but it's not there tending it anymore. They're easy to push off. (They let wolves run them off, I've seen video.)
I have watched wolves run a cat from it's kill 3 times, two times easy, and one time 4 wolves and one mother cat with two yearling cubs, that one fought the wolves for a few minutes then give up and ran, the wolves took the kill (deer)100 feet then ate it all.
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I also found a dead doe with a couple tiny incisions amd a fawn next to it that was decapitated along sode a logging road. A truck driver saw a cougar running from that spot. It never came back and I watched the two deer bloat and rot over the next two weeks. I was working just up the road. It happened early Monday morning amd I can only assume the truck traffic that week kept the cat away
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Just posted another one from SD...
RS20, has some good details from a guy who's getting it dialed in!
Hope to post a photo as well, but not up yet...
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
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Updated. 105 is now closed. https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
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Updated. 105 is now closed. https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar
bummer, but I can't cry about it this year.
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Email from NWWG regarding the surveys they made and the upcoming WDFW cougar proposal:
We have received many comments on our survey regarding the number of cougars, the public safety issue and incidents or encounters, and the devastating effect they are having on our whitetails, elk and moose. The Options for Cougar Management the Department presented we believe will have almost no effect on cougar population and is available for public
comment from February 6 through the 26th. We understand the 7 or 8 options in the released version has been pared down to 4. Regardless, it likely will provide very little relief to what we are experiencing.
If you are sick and tired of what is happening you must make yourself heard. To all of you that voiced your opinion on our survey would you please do the same during this public comment period. To the rest of you, now is the chance for the Department and the Commission to see just what is happening here, not what they are being told by Department personnel. Click on the link below to access the WDFW website and submit your comment.
This is an absolute necessity. We cannot change the trajectory of the misguided policies of WDFW without making our voices heard. It has to be more than just a few people, we need a whole bunch. If you have not done anything but gripe about it then you are not doing anything to fix it. Send a comment, it can be one line, two is better and more is great, just do it.
70+% of you are saying you have thought about or already are not, buying a big game license. If we do not get any change, or very little as the Department is proposing, then the deer hunting in NE Washington is finished. Again, it cannot be stressed enough, it is imperative that we bury them in comments. Put on your armor and grab your sword, OK, your pen, and join the battle.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/season-setting.
NWWG Board
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Cougars are usually not hard to kill (exceptions noted, as with any animal) but without tracking snow, they can be very hard to find once shot. Soft feet on moss or duff leave no sign for most of us to follow unless there is a good blood trail. Use enough gun... and bullet.
IE. Had a hard time finding a cougar hit on snow with a 30-06 180 gr. CorLokt, side to side through about the last rib. It left the open snow and ran into forest with only moss and no snow on the ground. Exit wound plugged by fat. Ditto on another well hit lion using 7mm mag and Swift Sirocco, hit well and recovered but surprisingly hard to find.
I have gone to .243 with 95 grain Nosler Partitions for my cougar calling. We can't control the angle of hit on a called cougar but take what shot it gives us. I want an exit at virtually any body angle but hopefully not too big of an exit. Others choose an entry hole only with fast expansion inside the body and hopefully a quick kill with no trailing. YMMV but for me, a ton of overkill beats an ounce of underkill. :)
:yeah:
I used to shoot a lot of lions over my dogs with a 22-250 and we can and have killed them with 22 mags. That being said I started packing my 45-70 lever action because its open sights and I like lever guns. I bought the gun for hound hunting bears but once I took the 45-70 it has become the staple. I like the cat to come out DEAD and have had lots of experience with them coming out not quite dead and its usually a crap show. A 45-70 is a completely ridiculous amount of overkill to shoot a lion and I really like it that way :chuckle: I took my taxidermist out this year and he got a really nice tom that I treed and he shot it with a 44mag lever gun. He will be doing a life size on it that's what good taxidermist do is patch holes. I think if I had a lever 30-30 that would be my go to lion gun. You can kill lions with the smallest of calibers but why?? I agree overkill is underrated.
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Cougars are usually not hard to kill (exceptions noted, as with any animal) but without tracking snow, they can be very hard to find once shot. Soft feet on moss or duff leave no sign for most of us to follow unless there is a good blood trail. Use enough gun... and bullet.
IE. Had a hard time finding a cougar hit on snow with a 30-06 180 gr. CorLokt, side to side through about the last rib. It left the open snow and ran into forest with only moss and no snow on the ground. Exit wound plugged by fat. Ditto on another well hit lion using 7mm mag and Swift Sirocco, hit well and recovered but surprisingly hard to find.
I have gone to .243 with 95 grain Nosler Partitions for my cougar calling. We can't control the angle of hit on a called cougar but take what shot it gives us. I want an exit at virtually any body angle but hopefully not too big of an exit. Others choose an entry hole only with fast expansion inside the body and hopefully a quick kill with no trailing. YMMV but for me, a ton of overkill beats an ounce of underkill. :)
:yeah:
I used to shoot a lot of lions over my dogs with a 22-250 and we can and have killed them with 22 mags. That being said I started packing my 45-70 lever action because its open sights and I like lever guns. I bought the gun for hound hunting bears but once I took the 45-70 it has become the staple. I like the cat to come out DEAD and have had lots of experience with them coming out not quite dead and its usually a crap show. A 45-70 is a completely ridiculous amount of overkill to shoot a lion and I really like it that way :chuckle: I took my taxidermist out this year and he got a really nice tom that I treed and he shot it with a 44mag lever gun. He will be doing a life size on it that's what good taxidermist do is patch holes. I think if I had a lever 30-30 that would be my go to lion gun. You can kill lions with the smallest of calibers but why?? I agree overkill is underrated.
Roger, my taxi has performed some miracle work in that regard :chuckle:
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Cougars are usually not hard to kill (exceptions noted, as with any animal) but without tracking snow, they can be very hard to find once shot. Soft feet on moss or duff leave no sign for most of us to follow unless there is a good blood trail. Use enough gun... and bullet.
IE. Had a hard time finding a cougar hit on snow with a 30-06 180 gr. CorLokt, side to side through about the last rib. It left the open snow and ran into forest with only moss and no snow on the ground. Exit wound plugged by fat. Ditto on another well hit lion using 7mm mag and Swift Sirocco, hit well and recovered but surprisingly hard to find.
I have gone to .243 with 95 grain Nosler Partitions for my cougar calling. We can't control the angle of hit on a called cougar but take what shot it gives us. I want an exit at virtually any body angle but hopefully not too big of an exit. Others choose an entry hole only with fast expansion inside the body and hopefully a quick kill with no trailing. YMMV but for me, a ton of overkill beats an ounce of underkill. :)
:yeah:
I used to shoot a lot of lions over my dogs with a 22-250 and we can and have killed them with 22 mags. That being said I started packing my 45-70 lever action because its open sights and I like lever guns. I bought the gun for hound hunting bears but once I took the 45-70 it has become the staple. I like the cat to come out DEAD and have had lots of experience with them coming out not quite dead and its usually a crap show. A 45-70 is a completely ridiculous amount of overkill to shoot a lion and I really like it that way :chuckle: I took my taxidermist out this year and he got a really nice tom that I treed and he shot it with a 44mag lever gun. He will be doing a life size on it that's what good taxidermist do is patch holes. I think if I had a lever 30-30 that would be my go to lion gun. You can kill lions with the smallest of calibers but why?? I agree overkill is underrated.
Roger, my taxi has performed some miracle work in that regard :chuckle:
:tup: Never had the taxidermist say we should have used a smaller gun :chuckle: One big holes easier to fix than 8 small ones
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Holy smokes! 101 is still open and I bumped into a guy saying he’s got a big cougar hanging around his place. Should be a doozy of a hike in on snowshoes to the back side of where he thinks the cougars home is in the rocks but I plan to be in there tomorrow around 7-7:30. We still have snow so hopefully I can cut some tracks and get the call going.
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Holy smokes! 101 is still open and I bumped into a guy saying he’s got a big cougar hanging around his place. Should be a doozy of a hike in on snowshoes to the back side of where he thinks the cougars home is in the rocks but I plan to be in there tomorrow around 7-7:30. We still have snow so hopefully I can cut some tracks and get the call going.
Sweet score! Take good pictures.
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I should know not to trust people. Hiked quite a few miles and only cut dog tracks. Found a good perch to call from and had the call down below in a tree and managed to get 3 dogs really riled up. They have to be his as there’s no one else for miles and miles in that spot. No coyotes even howled when I tried some coyote calling back there. I did scare 3 does and a buck came along 5 minutes later, no antlers, grunting, nose to the snow following their tracks. That was pretty cool.
edited to rotate images right side up ~KFhunter
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looks like cat country, sorry no luck
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Well, a friend who has never hunted anything wants to give it a shot. So april 1st we will start hunting lions in 101. Going to do the hunter ed deferral for him. 2 sets of eyes will double the odds of getting a cat down if one comes in i guess. Will be pretty crazy if his first kill is a close range lion. Id rather see him get one than get one myself.
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I work at a hospital, non clinical, and have suddenly found myself working long shifts and off hours. I'll probably have to eat my first ever tag from 2019. I let my wife know that I'm going to be hunting extensively in 2020 and cougar hunting was going to get the attention it needs. I really want to be a good citizen notch a few tags this coming decade.
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So many guys have asked me about callers and what would be a good unit for a budget, so I thought I'd just mention that today (March 20, 2020 3:15pm) I got an email from gander outdoors saying they had a sale on the FP Banshee for something like $207. That's pretty good...
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DUMPING snow right now! Might have great calling conditions in the hills tomorrow morning.
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Not doing so hot in 101 so far. Think tomorrow i may head to an area in 113 that i know is loaded with deer this time of year, see if my luck changes. Made 10 calling attempts so far this month.
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Went out for another round in 101 today. Nothing worked out. Got up there and realized id left my wallet at home. No id, license, tag. Turned around and got it, drove north again. Only got 2 calling sessions in. Left my sunglasses at my first set 1100 ft elevation above my truck. Decided they lacked the sentimental value to retrieve. The area i wanted to hunt has had the livin piss logged out of it since i was there last, so much stuff wide open and parklike, not conducive to calling. Did find one set of lion tracks in the soft muddy road that i think were fresh. Small cat. Another day a bust. And between the last 2 times ive gone out to hunt cats ive hiked 14 miles and not even found a single shed to take home as a consolation prize. Just on a bit of a losing streak i guess. 15 calling sessions this month, no nothin. Maybe i do need to go hit 113, might change my luck.
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Bango: PM sent.
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Replied
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Got one with a tracking collar in my back yard
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You must be neck deep in WDFW folks
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You must be neck deep in WDFW folks
Guessing its from the predator prey study. They were collaring deer just down the road from me. I talked to the people doing it, they said they were having trouble trying to get enough deer collared. I told them they should have done it 5 years ago when there were still deer in the neighborhood. Cats and wolves ate em all.
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Man, april is rough. 20 stands so far with no luck. Maybe #21 will be the winner.
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Bango, persistence pays!
I really have respect for you keeping after it.
I've been skunked too many times to count.
;)
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Man, april is rough. 20 stands so far with no luck. Maybe #21 will be the winner.
Is that pretty typical this time of year up there?
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Man, april is rough. 20 stands so far with no luck. Maybe #21 will be the winner.
Is that pretty typical this time of year up there?
Id say so. Its a tough time of year for a lot of reasons. Muddy and snowy roads you cant drive on prohibiting access, first part of the month a lot of their prey is down low around private stuff, so the cats arent really up in the hills much, no fresh snow to find tracks or help you see a sneaker crawling up on ya, where there is snow its old and crunchy and way too loud to sneak on, bright sunny days that arent conducive to calling so that often when i find a spot i would like to call if it was overcast the spot just wont work because of the sun. Lot going against a guy this time of year. Plus my home unit is closed so i have to drive further, and of course state lands are closed now which doesnt help. Calling cats is an exercise in frustration at the best of times. Right now its a flat out struggle. Im going to keep trying though, may get dumb lucky soon, who knows? I am kinda surprised i havent called in a bear yet though :dunno:
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I changed up my routine some
snuck into a good bench that was logged last winter, had downed trees everywhere so I knew the deer would be hitting that. There was a sunny, rocky ridge line up above the bench I was on, so was hoping a cat might be up catching some sun.
Opened up with a turkey hen yelping, seconds later I had gobblers sounding off. I played with the turkeys a good while, them gobbling and me suducing them.
After the toms lost interest 15 minutes or so later I just watched them mill around a bit as they were hoping to see that hen still.
Then I did some fawn bleats for a while, turkeys could care less and hung around
No success, but I felt the stand could have been good had a cat been nearby and game.
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No success, but I felt the stand could have been good had a cat been nearby and game.
That right there is what makes it so frustrating. You never know if one is in hearing distance (especially in the spring with no fresh snow to find tracks) and you never know if one may have snuck in, busted you and snuck out. So set after set with no sighting, and you have to second guess yourself. Doing something wrong and theyre not responding? Doing something right but not seeing them respond? Or just none within earshot? A guy just has to assume that he is doing things right but hasnt had one hear his calling, or it gets discouraging.
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No success, but I felt the stand could have been good had a cat been nearby and game.
That right there is what makes it so frustrating. You never know if one is in hearing distance (especially in the spring with no fresh snow to find tracks) and you never know if one may have snuck in, busted you and snuck out. So set after set with no sighting, and you have to second guess yourself. Doing something wrong and theyre not responding? Doing something right but not seeing them respond? Or just none within earshot? A guy just has to assume that he is doing things right but hasnt had one hear his calling, or it gets discouraging.
Keep on it :tup:
End of season is coming.
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No success, but I felt the stand could have been good had a cat been nearby and game.
That right there is what makes it so frustrating. You never know if one is in hearing distance (especially in the spring with no fresh snow to find tracks) and you never know if one may have snuck in, busted you and snuck out. So set after set with no sighting, and you have to second guess yourself. Doing something wrong and theyre not responding? Doing something right but not seeing them respond? Or just none within earshot? A guy just has to assume that he is doing things right but hasnt had one hear his calling, or it gets discouraging.
An Arizona study I read several years ago said that male cougars have ranges of about 500 sq. miles, females more usually 300 sq. miles. I'd guess that our west side forest cats cover less ground but that is pure guess. Anyway, if our sound covers 1 sq. mile (and it rarely does in forest and ridges) then we have one chance in 500 on any given stand to call a tom cougar, 1 chance in 300 for a female. I also read about 60 sq. mile ranges, and that ups our odds on a stand to one in 60!
Without tracks or sighting, choosing ground that has higher odds of holding a cougar at the moment reduces those odds. We have called and killed only one with a totally cold call. I rarely call anymore without some kind of sign to indicate that a cougar is within hearing range, but I'm an arthritic old guy kind of burned out. Some terrain features up the odds a bit, as does known deer wintering grounds, known cougar travel corridors, etc. but IME a cougar may take from 8 days to a month to come through an area again, except when on a kill.
It is a way to get out in what many consider the off season, have the woods to ourselves, hunt a lot... and rarely have to skin anything or get our hands dirty! :)
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You have a point there okanagan, but im going to have to be the voice of optimism here and argue that its msybe not quite as hopeless ss you make it sound. Males larger territories overlap several females territories, and its well documented that females will share territories with other females, especially their own female offspring, and live and raise litters in the same territories, though they dont really interact, they tolerate eachother unlike males. So while its still a real crapshoot to whether or not a guy is calling within earshot of a cat, a particular area can have a big boss tom and several females that use it, plus those females juvenile offspring that may be legal subadults but not quite out of the area yet, and roaming young males looking for a home could be intruding on the big toms territory. Also, i think we have a lot higher cougar density here than other places. So its not as bad as figuring that any one chunk of territory only has one cat that uses it. But being in the right place at the right time, particularly with no tracking snow and limited gmus etc that are huntable, its definitely a really low odds game. Cant win if ya dont play though.
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For you guys that set up e-callers, would it be way to much of a hassle to set up a climbing tree stand to watch from while the call is working? May keep from getting busted and allow for a better view of the area. I know no one wants to haul one of those things around with them all day, but seems like it could up the odds of seeing something without it seeing you.
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For you guys that set up e-callers, would it be way to much of a hassle to set up a climbing tree stand to watch from while the call is working? May keep from getting busted and allow for a better view of the area. I know no one wants to haul one of those things around with them all day, but seems like it could up the odds of seeing something without it seeing you.
I've done it. The time and noise has made me decide not to, but BOY is it nice sitting up there calling!
I was doing it with a treelounge... not a small stand! It was really slow bulky and loud.
Made me do 2+ hour stands, because it was such a nice set up, but I don't do it anymore.
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For you guys that set up e-callers, would it be way to much of a hassle to set up a climbing tree stand to watch from while the call is working? May keep from getting busted and allow for a better view of the area. I know no one wants to haul one of those things around with them all day, but seems like it could up the odds of seeing something without it seeing you.
I've done it. The time and noise has made me decide not to, but BOY is it nice sitting up there calling!
I was doing it with a treelounge... not a small stand! It was really slow bulky and loud.
Made me do 2+ hour stands, because it was such a nice set up, but I don't do it anymore.
I’ve thought being up in a tree even a little bit gives the hunter a much better view of what is coming in. I tend to believe predators don’t look up very often. I’ve personal done this hunting coyotes, climb into a tree or a large down stump. I can see them coming through the brush easier and they haven’t seen me until it’s too late. I know cougars and coyotes respond to prey differently, so that could be the difference in why the technique wouldn’t work for cougars? Saddle hunting maybe, less weight? Do you guys think cougars look up? Worth the effort?
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You have a point there okanagan, but im going to have to be the voice of optimism here and argue that its msybe not quite as hopeless ss you make it sound. Males larger territories overlap several females territories, and its well documented that females will share territories with other females, especially their own female offspring, and live and raise litters in the same territories, though they dont really interact, they tolerate eachother unlike males. So while its still a real crapshoot to whether or not a guy is calling within earshot of a cat, a particular area can have a big boss tom and several females that use it, plus those females juvenile offspring that may be legal subadults but not quite out of the area yet, and roaming young males looking for a home could be intruding on the big toms territory. Also, i think we have a lot higher cougar density here than other places. So its not as bad as figuring that any one chunk of territory only has one cat that uses it. But being in the right place at the right time, particularly with no tracking snow and limited gmus etc that are huntable, its definitely a really low odds game. Cant win if ya dont play though.
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I'm hunting the SW foothills of Mt. Rainier (Ashford, Elbe, Morton area) so this may be a specific west-side question.
How should I hunt the snow line during late cougar (or during Nov/Dec for that matter)? In other words, do they tend to like to be at lower elevations than the snow line, right around snow line, above the snow line, or anywhere they dang-well please?
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Follow the deer go where they are and you will be in right spot
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With wolves around they will be a mile or two from a kill site, without them they are close by. Source is Wyoming research.
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One day left, im throwing in the towel until after im done deer hunting this fall. I figure i have better odds of calling in a bear than a cat now, so heading to idaho in the morning, see if i can shake a bear up. Have to head to alaska on the 5th, would be nice to fill a bear tag first. Been finding the occasional pile of bear crap in 101 and 117 this week, and some pretty good green grass in some areas. 23 lion stands this month, no takers.
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Wow crazy season this year. Looking forward to August
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Got one with a tracking collar in my back yard
So apparently this is an old girl, 9-10 years old. Part of the predator prey study.
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Ya, looks like the old girl by your backdoor
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anybody else out trying? Ive been doing a bit the last couple weeks here and there. Cant help but feel like im educating them at best. With the brush full of leaves, grass tall and lion colored, and no snow on the ground i thik it will be a miracle if i manage to call one in and actually see it, sneaky suckers that they are. Rationally i know i should wait until the snow flies, but i just cant help myself. :dunno: sleeping up on notellum ridge tonight, going to get to calling in the morning. Hoping to get 3 or 4 sessions in.
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okay, actually hoping to get only one session in. :bfg:
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I’m waiting for at least a heavy frost
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I figure if i can get lucky and tag one now, ill be able to focus more time on wolf / lion hunting in idaho come winter.
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I figure if i can get lucky and tag one now, ill be able to focus more time on wolf / lion hunting in idaho come winter.
i don’t blame ya. If you got time go but I got a farm to run. Come snow fall things slow down just long enough for a few hunts then I got plowing to do
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I figure if i can get lucky and tag one now, ill be able to focus more time on wolf / lion hunting in idaho come winter.
i don’t blame ya. If you got time go but I got a farm to run. Come snow fall things slow down just long enough for a few hunts then I got plowing to do
Gimme some eggs!
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and plow my driveway while youre already plowin!
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:chuckle:
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I got two new call in stories, but I wasn't cougar hunting. I was chasing Elk in Idaho.
1) We were going down a gated road and came to a Y intersection, the road went on to make a big circle around a mountain knob, so you'd end up back at the Y no matter which direction you took. It was about 2 mile loop.
We called for Elk at the Y intersection, then continued on taking a right due to wind direction. Not seeing much for elk sign, we took a mid afternoon break, ate, and relaxed a bit thinking where we'd scout next. Then continued on around the loop coming back to that Y from the left side. Total time is a rough guess, but it was 2+ hours.
As we passed by the Y we had a cat explode out of the brush just above us on the cut bank and booger out, it was all of about 10 feet away from me. I found it interesting that the cat came in and hung in the area for so long, then set up an ambush on the side of the road. Had we been elk, I think it could have had one wind being in the cats face. It was a huge one.
2) We were on the upper corner of a cut block where loggers clear cut, then it had grown up a few years. On the other side of the cutblock it went down into a wallow and had a spring down there, elk travelled through frequently. We had a moose cow + calf walk within 20-30 feet of us :chuckle: so we tossed sticks at her until she left with her calf. We did some elk calls, then not getting any response we bugled some. Still no response. We decided to wait it out until I couldn't see my pins, finally it got dark and out came the headlamps. As we were walking down the cutblock we got about 300 yards and I caught eyes in my headlamp, I recognized them immediately for cat eyes, the way the orbs are perfectly round and staring right at you, deer tend to be half moon shaped, blink and bob a lot, whereas a cat they're rock steady staring straight at you, and very bright! It was about 50 yards into the cutblock from our trail we were taking down. I pulled out my glock and hit it with the weapon light, that's a 1000 lumen Streamlight TRL-1 HL, and it lit its world up. You could clearly see it, I started fast walking towards it and it spun and boogered out, running into stuff as it fled.
Again, it was 2+ hours from the time we called, to the time we spotted it.
I think I will adjust my call times!
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Got up to hunt at daybreak and started hearing a bunch of atvs and hollerin coming my way. Forgot, opening weekend of muzzy :bash: im staying out of the woods until monday, let the weekend warriors do their thing.
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:yeah:
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Sounds like a great trip kfhunter. Next time include a cougar tag with those elk tags. May have to sit longer after reading this
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Can I post those, KF?
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Can I post those, KF?
👍
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Posted! A26 AND A27
http://rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
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Anybody out trying yet? Ive thrown in the towel on idaho, and decided rather than hunt deer in washington this year im going straight to lion calling. Starting tomorrow. Hoping to give a big cat a ride home in my rental car. The thing i signed just said no pets. :chuckle: just changed scopes on my lion gun again, happy with this one. Zeiss conquest v6 1-6×24, should be just the ticket. Trying to decide where im going to start tomorrow. Little rental car cant go the kinds of places my yota could, so my options will be quite limited this year. Not like a guy needs to get deep to find cats though.
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Have a line on 2 seen today near curlew, hoping to get after them on friday.
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Anybody out trying yet? Ive thrown in the towel on idaho, and decided rather than hunt deer in washington this year im going straight to lion calling. Starting tomorrow. Hoping to give a big cat a ride home in my rental car. The thing i signed just said no pets. :chuckle: just changed scopes on my lion gun again, happy with this one. Zeiss conquest v6 1-6×24, should be just the ticket. Trying to decide where im going to start tomorrow. Little rental car cant go the kinds of places my yota could, so my options will be quite limited this year. Not like a guy needs to get deep to find cats though.
That’s an understatement especially for you. You should just start in your backyard from the looks of a lot of your pictures
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My property is steep and brushy. Most of it behind my house is either doghair fir patches or head high tangles of oceanspray. Not really ideal for calling. Ive tried a few times though. Heard a yote howling in the creek across the road this summer middle of the damn day. Went out to my driveway and howled once, expecting nothing, and the dumb thing crossed the road and ran straight into my neighbors large well manicured lawn broad daylight. Blew my mind. Wasnt ready to shoot as i didnt think hed be bold enough to come in like that. Tried to head pop him (grabbed the closest rifle when i heard him howl which happened to be a .22 wmr. Figured i better head pop him) and whiffed at 100 yards offhand. If i thought i actually had half a chance to call him across the road into the wide open mid day id have grabbed a real gun that i could have just center massed him with, without worrying about holdover. :bash:
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Snowing, think I'll hit it tomorrow.
Did some scouting tonight seeing where the deer were moving good, I'll cut cat tracks in the morning and make a play
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Snowing, think I'll hit it tomorrow.
Huh, not snowing down here.
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It was up here starting about 3000'
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Packing my bow too, gonna rattle some then break into a lion stand..
Wish I could pack bow and rifle...hmm, gotta think it through some
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Might just have to arrow a lion
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Rattling in a buck and killing it with a bow from the ground.. you better be an absolute ninja. Id say leave the bow at home and get serious on cats, or haul the bow into a treestsnd and be serious about deer. Better to do one thing right than 2 things half assed i would think.
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Lol
All true 👍
I was just thinking about the last few bucks I called in and thought I coulda arrowd em
Although one I'm not sure one was far enough away for the arrow to leave the bow, would that be spearing?
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I did a set last week and Sunday I went back to the same area and a lion had followed my tracks back down the hill a ways. They looked fresher than my tracks by a day or so, hopefully I didn’t call it in and then educate it when I left. I’ve cut a ton of lion tracks this year though.
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Looking for some advise. I just bought a FoxPro Shockwave for calling cougars. Do you guys cold call much or mainly find some tracks first before calling. I live in the foothills of western WA and we usually won't get snow until Christmas usually. The area I am thinking of going has plenty of deer so I am thinking there must be some cats around.
Also for a set up from what I been reading it seems the cougars come to the call from the uphill side of the call. I was thinking of sitting to the side of the call about 50ish yards away so I can see the up and down hill. I am assuming a cougar most likely won't approach from the side of the same elevation as the call. Am I correct in my thoughts of setting up?
I been reading Rain-Shadow's cougar stories and love them, will probably be buying the cougar call files shortly.
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8.2 miles on my boots today and found tracks from 2 or 3 different cougars. 3 calling sessions, no response as far as i know. Found a kill with lion tracks all around it, but it was in a terrible place for my purposes. Tons of bobcat and yote and wabbit tracks everywhere, and some wolf tracks. Very scarce on the deer and moose tracks. Predator tracks outnumbered deer so bad, soon theyre just going to be stuck eating eachother to survive.
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Thanks for the reply Bango, the area I am interested in has deer but quite thick. I was thinking of setting up on the dge of the thick stuff where I can see. The thing against me there is no snow there to see track. I can go to higher elevation where there is snow but not many deer up there. Are cats more prevalent in higher or lower elevations or more on food supply?
I guess I will have to build experience by trial and error like how I learned to hunt deer. Just thought I would ask some of you guys that have the knowledge. Looking for tips not your area, I have plenty of area around my house.
Thanks
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Seems the question was directed at me so disclaimer im not an expert. If you want a bonified expert on cougar behavior maybe @wacoyotehunter can chime in, and @rainshadow really knows his stuff with calling. But ime lions can commonly be found up in the snow where deer are scarce for various reasons. But as a good general rule more likely to find cats in areas with more cat food
One cat i called in was up higher in deep snow where most of the deer hang out below. Theres a draw that is above a deer wintering area and the cats seem to use that draw as a highway to go down and hunt deer. Always tracks there and ive seen 3 cats there just by random accident. So went up one time with a friend, set up with me as caller and him as shooter, and 30 minutes in he killed a cat.
As far as your plan to set up where you can see, i think cats are more sneaky and patient than we are, so if youre set up where you can see 100 or 200 yards, i feel youre tipping the odds in the cats favor. They could sneak in super slow and easy and you wont even see them, but theyll pick you out and be gone. Better to set up so they cant see you until theyre right on top of you, to increase the odds that youll see them before they bust you, if that makes sense. These are just my personal thoughts on it, others may disagree. More than one way to skin a cat for sure.
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Thanks for the reply Bango, you may think your not an expert but you know way more than me about cats. I find that interesting how you seen 3 cats using the same draw as a highway. Other than a mom and youngins I thought they ran others off. So basically looking for one cat in 50 to 100 sq miles would be like finding the needle in a haystack.
I have been hunting in WA for 30 yrs and never seen a cougar in the wild but really wasn't looking either so I am all ears. The area where the deer hang out is so thick, you can only see about 20 yds at the good spots. That's why I was thinking of setting up on the edges of it. It is still treed but just not so thick. I am looking forward to the adrenaline rush when I see the first one. Good luck hunting. 👍
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The 1 cat in 50-100 sq miles is nonsense. Females territories overlap. They tolerate eachother. Especially related females. You can have several adult females using the same area, maybe some of their juveniles hanging around just striking out on their own, a boss tom, maybe some younger intruding tom, who knows what may be passing through. Even big males territories will overlap to some extent. I had 3 different adult lions in my backyard the same day not long ago. A 10 yr old collared female, a 4 year old collared male and another uncollared adult of unknown age or sex.
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Several cats, interesting. How long do you call at a sitting? From stories I've read seems most limit the calling to about an hour. Is there a reason to this or is it person preference?
Do you notice if the come from uphill of you and the call more than from the down hill or lateral?
Open to hear others thoughts as well so Bango doesn't get tired of my questions 😁 I appreciate the replies.
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Only called in a couple myself but theyve come from downhill. One slightly downhill, another from a steep downhill angle. Never called in anything past 30 minutes but if im in a spot that feels good ill go 45 or so. My thought is that available sneaking cover matters more than uphill / downhill.
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We've killed 5 cats on my property in 1 year,and there is one more hanging around. I'm thinking more like a cat every 100 yards.
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Well ya, you raise bait lol
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I àm surprised we don't have more cat encounter by me. A lot of people including me have livestock. Although this past Aug a new born horse was killed and the cat tried dragging it through the fence. Cat go away empty hamded.
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Most of my call ins the cat was above me or level. Only one came from below. Could just be how I like to setup. I like to let the cat be the hunter and put the odds in it’s favor. Im just pretending to be an easy meal or another cat and want the cat to feel confident on its approach. I’ve had many call ins, shot 4 and recovered 1. 2 made it to private land which no access allowed 😥 and one I lost the blood and tracks in heavy snow storm. Also why I won’t use my ar anymore for cat.
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For those that might be interested 6 measured inches of new powder in Winthrop last night for following cat tracks, bring your snowshoes.
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Seeing any deer?
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Seeing more than I did when hunting deer, a couple of what I would classify as impressive racks one was what I would call super, extra wide and 4 x 4
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Posted another story on my call in story page... O32
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
This one is a little different, but it's something that I've heard of happening repeatedly, so it needs to be covered!
Check it out! - O32
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Posted a new Call-in Story. Youtube Video of the entire thing after the shot! Look for "O33" on the call-in story page!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
HS Football Coach goes 1 for 1 on targeted Cougar Stands!
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HS Football coach visits friends, they go cat hunting, he runs the stand with his ICOtech and RainShadow sounds.... and he goes 2 for 2 on lion stands (even though he didn't do the shooting!)
No, that isn't 'typical' either!
I told him, someday he'd have the satisfaction of having 30 dry stands in a row... but he's just a beginner, so he can't expect to get to that level immediately!
I will post the story as soon as I get it from the shooter!
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Last night while grilling up dinner, the ol’man likes to flash light the lower pasture just out of curiosity. We seen eyes in the brush. Moved around super slow looking around. I knew right then it wasn’t a deer or coyote. It slowly walked out to the right. I said that’s a fricken cat! Big cat! It slithered along then out of sight. It was pouring down rain, hard to see and if we did get a shot it was in an unsafe direction unfortunately. So there’s cat big cat in the neighborhood. I guess this story is my tag to this thread :P . I’m excited to get to calling.
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Last night while grilling up dinner, the ol’man likes to flash light the lower pasture just out of curiosity. We seen eyes in the brush. Moved around super slow looking around. I knew right then it wasn’t a deer or coyote. It slowly walked out to the right. I said that’s a fricken cat! Big cat! It slithered along then out of sight. It was pouring down rain, hard to see and if we did get a shot it was in an unsafe direction unfortunately. So there’s cat big cat in the neighborhood. I guess this story is my tag to this thread :P . I’m excited to get to calling.
:tup:
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Okay, I got a couple of steaks out, 22-250 dusted off and the foxpro charged up. We'll see if we can get lucky at the grill again :chuckle: .
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Just Posted R21. Great story by the young hunter, and great post-shot video by the Coach!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar_callin_stories.htm
Distress and 3 different RainShadow vocals, predominantly "RS S Live Whistles" brought in a young cat. Great story! Lots of fun interacting with these guys over the past couple weeks!
Enjoy!
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I've been noticing that the call in story page is getting quite LONG!
One thing I've found that you can do to consume it is to have your computer or device read it to you. That way you can reload, or drive or whatever.
You have to kinda focus to get much out of the robot voice, but it does work.
For the computer, for instance, you go to the page, click where you want to start, and then right click, and then click "Read Aloud" or press Control and Shift and U at the same time.
Just a little life hack!
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Here's a cool youtube video of a female cougar caterwaul calling for a mate. This sound is very close to the TT Caterwaul call on my ICOtec call that got a cougar to run down the hill and stand over my call at the 40 minute mark of my stand. I had used many Rainshadow vocals previous to the caterwaul which likely brought it in but the mating call seemed to set off the territorial instincts of the 100 pound female and she charged down the hill. It is interesting to now hear this same sound from a cat on trail cam that successfully calls in a mate.
Here's a 2nd video from the same camera. Both videos also show the male creating a couple of scrapes.
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Those are awesome captures!
Here's a cool youtube video of a female cougar caterwaul calling for a mate. This sound is very close to the TT Caterwaul call on my ICOtec call that got a cougar to run down the hill and stand over my call at the 40 minute mark of my stand. I had used many Rainshadow vocals previous to the caterwaul which likely brought it in but the mating call seemed to set off the territorial instincts of the 100 pound female and she charged down the hill. It is interesting to now hear this same sound from a cat on trail cam that successfully calls in a mate.
Here's a 2nd video from the same camera. Both videos also show the male creating a couple of scrapes.
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The snow here has been pretty thin if any at all in the lowlands here on the west side. The first weekend was unsuccessful. Last weekend a buddy and I were hunting separately in the same relative area. I found a set of tracks but it had a cub with it so I carried on. A short while later crossed a set of female tracks in the same exact location as one we found last year that killed an elk nearby, which my buddy tracked and eventually spooked the cat off it's kill. The cat never returned and the carcass rotted until the coyotes found it (we put cameras on it) It's pretty safe to assume it's the same cat since it was the same size paw and stride, following almost the same path it kept taking last year. The tracks from last weekend were chasing deer all over the mountain side. It was raining and the snow was melting fast. The tracks were atleast 12 hours old. We met up and called a stand in that area, but the wind and rain wouldn't allow the sound to travel far. It's been snowing hard here for a couple of days and we will be out in the morning to try to pick up on some tracks again. Goodluck to you guys!
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I'll be out tomorrow looking for tracks in GMU 633. Holding out that we get some more snow tonight. This is the only snow I expect on the west side. Hoping to notch my tag before seasons end.
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6-12 hours after a storm is gold for finding tracks. While it's happening is a waste of time.
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We went out saturday morning. We cut 3 different cougar tracks before noon. The first set was an extremely fresh, nice sized set but went into permit land that we didn't have a permit to hunt about 2 hours before daylight. The second set we found on a paved road surrounded by legal land about an hour later. They were fresh but the snow was so dry and the wind was blowing so they were being covered fast. They were walking on the road and we followed them for 3.5 miles. It was zig zagging all over the road. It would leave the road and come right back. The further we folllowed them the fresher they looked. Eventually it bailed off the road to our left. We drove up the road and around to the backside of the timber patch it went into. We couldn't find ay tracks leaving the cut but it is possible the cat slipped down the timber line and avoided the road altogether. We walked a spur road and did some calling on the timber edge for about an hour. The wind was still blowing pretty hard and it was hard to get sound out. We knew that would more than likely be the case but we figured it was better to try than to ignore a set of fresh tracks. After about an hour we decided to head back to the truck and try to pick up another set. about 10:30 or so the wind died down and we cut another set in a different area. They were not real fresh (atleast 4 hours if I had to guess) so we decided to circle around the area and try to pick up on the tracks somewhere else. I started having mechanical issues with my 4wd. My transfer case would randomly kick in and out of 4wd so we decided to stay in the low lands and couldn't find any more tracks. Sunday it rained so I stayed home. Saturday a buddy of mine found a fresh set of tom tracks but wasn't ale to call him in. Hopefully that's not the last of the snow we see but I'm sure it's over here.
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6-12 hours after a storm is gold for finding tracks. While it's happening is a waste of time.
Hey, Steve. A couple of us went out Saturday for a few hours. This was just after the Friday night snow dump. There were 6" to 8" of fresh snow. We saw diddly squat (one of the partners found a bobcat track, but that's it). It was calm, eerily quiet in the woods. No movement of deer or big cats, nothing moving. We gave it the college try, but nuttin.
Any suggestions? We are probably done with snow in our area for the season.
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6-12 hours after a storm is gold for finding tracks. While it's happening is a waste of time.
Hey, Steve. A couple of us went out Saturday for a few hours. This was just after the Friday night snow dump. There were 6" to 8" of fresh snow. We saw diddly squat (one of the partners found a bobcat track, but that's it). It was calm, eerily quiet in the woods. No movement of deer or big cats, nothing moving. We gave it the college try, but nuttin.
Any suggestions? We are probably done with snow in our area for the season.
if it’s an area that has cats and deer or elk, I’d do the same route a few days in a row. No different then when we used to hound hunt. If a cat makes a kill in the right area he may not cross a road for a couple days. Had it all melted for you already?
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We had 6 to 8 inches where I was Saturday. Spent three hours trudging on foot and about an hour calling. No cat tracks for me. Cut several sets of deer and a coyote track on my way home. It was a tough day but I kept reminding myself the only place I had to be was home before dark. Probably the only snow in my area for the year. I'll keep at it when I have the time.
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6-12 hours after a storm is gold for finding tracks. While it's happening is a waste of time.
Hey, Steve. A couple of us went out Saturday for a few hours. This was just after the Friday night snow dump. There were 6" to 8" of fresh snow. We saw diddly squat (one of the partners found a bobcat track, but that's it). It was calm, eerily quiet in the woods. No movement of deer or big cats, nothing moving. We gave it the college try, but nuttin.
Any suggestions? We are probably done with snow in our area for the season.
Find more area!
I know it's frustrating, but you have to run all the area you possibly can for them. They're low density animals. They avoid each other, which spreads them out.
I know it's frustrating, I've ground off more than 30 miles in a day, with chains on all 4's, lots of technical snow driving, and hopping out and hiking three or four times without seeing a single track. (I've also done just that and cut a fresh one on the way home, right at the soggy slushy edge of the last possible little bit of snow!)
They go where they want when they want. They're cats. Completely unpredictable.
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Cool video captured by elk hunters of a female and 2 sub-adult cougars on the edge of a clearcut and timber interacting with a young bull elk.
If the video doesn't automatically load to the correct spot, skip ahead to the 11 minute mark.
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Wanted to let you guys know that I have my website back in business.
If you had a Cougar Call In Story that I haven't posted yet, please let me know. I have them, and I'm planning to update soon. But things are a mess, and a reminder is always handy!
I'll be working on adding the old pics back in and making it more readable and easy to see (don't forget the 'read it to me" right click function.) But meanwhile, It's alive!
If you haven't sent me your story, please think about doing that. I'd love to post your latest encounter with the big cats!
I keep telling it to have the same link, but it keeps refusing...
If I can't get it to change, here's the link it's creating...
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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Can get to it from your call/knife page but not the link, 404 error. Thanks for what you do!!!
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Can get to it from your call/knife page but not the link, 404 error. Thanks for what you do!!!
Switched it to the link it's creating now...
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
I'll figure it out eventually!
(Grrrr... hyphens, not underscores... I don't know if I can change that......)
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Just reviving this because I'm seeing a lot of random Archery and Muzzleloader season Cougar Kills on social media and local hunting forums... I'd sure love to get a short story and a pic if you kill a Lion!!!
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211004/88f8e32f8ac59c92aa6169c897182b7b.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211004/51255d30b6104d5d2dc35a76a63a732c.jpg)
Is this a kitty crap? There was a bigger one just as fresh right up the road.. might be time to give calling a try
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When you can't clearly discern anything but hair... yeah, that's very likely kitty! Size, location, and sign around it is important to observe too.
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Tracks were tough to tell but looked kittyish.. just looked different than coyote so i have to assume both were cat.
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Just posted A-29 . . . Great surprise call-in story!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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Thanks for the hairy poop distinction, was always wondering about that.
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Thanks for the hairy poop distinction, was always wondering about that.
I've had a few of those,......Definitely something to avoid if possible. :chuckle: :chuckle:
Sorry bout the :jacked: I couldn't resist
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During the muzzleloader season this year we sighted a cougar two different times hanging out by the road as we rode bikes in behind a gate in the morning dark. Both times it was well before shooting hours so didn't want to risk taking a shot. The second time we saw his green eyes looking back at us as we rode by and he jumped down off a log and walked out on the road behind us follwing us for a bit. I was tempted to fire off my handgun at him a couple times just to scare him off. He didnt seem to be too fearfull of people riding by which could have turned dangerous real quick. Saw a couple deer in the area which I'm sure he was hunting. I'll admit it was pretty creepy riding in and out in the dark each day. I plan on going back there this winter several times with the fox pro to see if I can call him during legal hunting hours.
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Before you take in the, FoxPro do everyone a favor and send in some spandex wearing bikers but in all fairness advise them of the cute Kitty Cat just leave out the details of the size.
Make it sound like a bicyclist utopia, good road, no vehicles to worry about, great scenery, few other people especially unvaxxed and good area for viewing and interacting with wildlife.
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I'll just leave that one alone...
Just posted A-30 . . . Far more common accidental call-in than most elk hunters realize!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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Just posted A-31... Cougar responding to a nighttime Bobcat stand!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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:chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:
Before you take in the, FoxPro do everyone a favor and send in some spandex wearing bikers but in all fairness advise them of the cute Kitty Cat just leave out the details of the size.
Make it sound like a bicyclist utopia, good road, no vehicles to worry about, great scenery, few other people especially unvaxxed and good area for viewing and interacting with wildlife.
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Just posted A-31... Cougar responding to a nighttime Bobcat stand!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
PSA for those in lynx recovery areas night time hunting for Bob's is illegal now.
Night Hunting for Bobcat is prohibited in the following GMUs that fall within the Lynx management zones: 101, 105, 111, 113, 117, 203, 204, 215, 218, 224, 231, 233, 242 through 247, 250, 426 and 450 .
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Just posted "RS22"
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
Really great story, especially with all the tracking and backtracking this hunter did. Really gives you a good insight on behavior.
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I went out sunday since it was dumping snow on the west side. I drove around 200 miles total. I cut one set of small cougar tracks that were a few hours old and dropped off into a roadless canyon. I decided not to pursue since it was small, not crazy fresh and in a nasty bottom. Later in the day I cut a fresh set of big tom tracks. It was chasing deer around a mountainside and dropped downhill. I was planning on circling down to the bottom and walking in a ways to set up but on the way down there I found his tracks coming back uphill and sidehilling up a cliff face. There was a decommissioned road that runs along the ridge top, so I geared up and hiked up there. I never cut his tracks again up there so I suspect he was still in a large timber patch. I walkin about a mile and tried calling for a while but was running out of daylight and I forgot my external speaker at the house so I couldn't get my sound out. I feel like if I had my speaker or a couple more hours to call from a different location I might have had a real honest chance at him.
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🤔
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Just added NC5 and NC6 ... Same guy! He's dialed in on spot/stalk patterned Cats!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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Just Posted RS23, and O34 (same guy!)
More to come!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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Just Posted RS23, and O34 (same guy!)
More to come!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
Whenever I open your website it completely crashes my Google chrome. Something might be wrong with it.
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Just Posted RS23, and O34 (same guy!)
More to come!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
Whenever I open your website it completely crashes my Google chrome. Something might be wrong with it.
Worked for me. :dunno:
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Just Posted RS23, and O34 (same guy!)
More to come!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
Whenever I open your website it completely crashes my Google chrome. Something might be wrong with it.
Worked for me. :dunno:
Opens fine for me.
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Just Posted RS23, and O34 (same guy!)
More to come!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
Whenever I open your website it completely crashes my Google chrome. Something might be wrong with it.
Just pulled up chrome and opened it, and it worked fine for me, don't know what to tell you. Let me know if you find out anything.
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Just posted A32, and O35
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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The quotas aren’t filling up like they normally do
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They must not be on the move covering ground as much since they are probably just chowing down on all the deer that are so concentrated down low. We have more deer, elk, turkeys on our property and neighboring property than any winter before. Tried calling the other day after getting trailcam pics of a cat several times in a week and finding crap full of hair. But no luck so he must’ve been content with the kill he had already.
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You can never tell why they won't respond. Keep planning set-ups on it!
Speaking of planning....
Just posted O36 - Love it when a plan comes together!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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I'll be out early Saturday for a morning hunt. Got a medium sized cougar on my deer cam last week. He's cruising awfully close to my parents house where my kids like to play outside. My buddy and I will see if we can call him in using a fawn mouth call. I've got three good spots to set up.
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This is really cool... YouTube hunter, hardcore backcountry dude... gets it done on a big cat!
Check out call-in story O37, all VIDEO (for now. I'll get a write up from him later.) Posted with permission!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
Great vlog story, Joe! Got a little western there at the end, but... It's on the Ground!!!
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I suck at calling, even w a fox pro! Lol.
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I suck at calling, even w a fox pro! Lol.
I don’t have a lot of faith in foxpro… I have an old Johnny Walker call that has more response but I think mouth calls are king.
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I know 3 different people personally that have killed lions by foxpro.
They do work just fine can't call cats where they are not and lots of guys don't call long enough for cats.
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I've called one in with FoxPro wildfire 2. Couldn't shoot because I was hunting with the thermal. Calling one in is one thing. Seeing it is another.
Pre-setting cameras then calling would be interesting.
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I know 3 different people personally that have killed lions by foxpro.
They do work just fine can't call cats where they are not and lots of guys don't call long enough for cats.
I'm definitely a rookie, I sure hate knowing little about hunting a certain way. Watching more videos and reading threads. Called for a half hour straight with the female call, then waited about 5 min and then called again for a few. But I realize their territory is huge so just have to get lucky and be in the right spot. someday
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Does the time of day make a huge difference? I have to admit, after the regular hunting season is over, sleeping in is nice! So, most the times I've called have been in the afternoon. One time we called till dark, didn't see anything.
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I know 3 different people personally that have killed lions by foxpro.
They do work just fine can't call cats where they are not and lots of guys don't call long enough for cats.
I'm definitely a rookie, I sure hate knowing little about hunting a certain way. Watching more videos and reading threads. Called for a half hour straight with the female call, then waited about 5 min and then called again for a few. But I realize their territory is huge so just have to get lucky and be in the right spot. someday
I've never called in a cat.
But I'm always there for an hour min.
Sometimes I'll pause at 30 min and change sounds .
But my advise is pretty limited with little experience.
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I find it funny how you are supposed to call for half hour straight, yet, I've never heard that noise in the woods and I've spent a ton of time in the woods. I believe you guys, just saying its odd I've never heard it before.
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I find it funny how you are supposed to call for half hour straight, yet, I've never heard that noise in the woods and I've spent a ton of time in the woods. I believe you guys, just saying its odd I've never heard it before.
You are correct ,I've never hear distressed sounds in the woods.
I believe is something most predators hear when learning to hunt.
I have had success hunting coyotes ,loud blasting sound for 20 min ,then tone it down to some kind of high pitched sound for another 20.
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No grey fox pups around here but coyotes will respond to my FoxPro set on it.
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I killed lions over WT and Minaska, but if you read the call-in stories, there's lots of foxpros in there! (I have two right now, myself!)
Constant sound isn't natural, but it is the most effective way to keep cats coming. One of the interesting things in the video story just posted... they stop!
90 min is pretty standard for a lion stand... they stop! If you know one is there (tracks, kill, etc) then go 6 hours!
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My fox pro has the cougar in heat call, is that only for a certain time of year? Should I stick w a dying Jack rabbit? I guess I’m asking, what’s the best call for cats, and coyotes? Also, your saying call for 90 min straight??
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Cougar in heat won't get you many coyotes. When I hunt multiple predators, fawn in distress has appeal to all.
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Cats loose interest very fast and also like to sit and listen a lot. I’ve had bobcats sit and watch for 20/30 minutes just listening and observing. Lions will do the same thing.
Cats were killed at 45 mins/ hr 10 and hr 35 from the guys I know. You catch a lion that’s run down hungry sure they might come hammering in full bore to a distress. Most are cautious, probably thinking. Saying who is in there doing the killing when coming to a distress. Kinda puts most on edge I think.
One of those cats was killed with kid goat distress the other 2 lion vocals. Talking with lots of people and watching videos and seeing the posture. It is my opinion that they may take longer to come into vocals but once they commit they are a lot more relaxed and not on high alert or offense.
The video that rainshadow just posted in prime example. Cat shows up and stops and listens. Then come closer and sits and listens and then commits. Comes into where he feels comfy and just lays down to watch. then the hunter shot him. That cat was very relaxed you can tell by his posture.
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My fox pro has the cougar in heat call, is that only for a certain time of year? Should I stick w a dying Jack rabbit? I guess I’m asking, what’s the best call for cats, and coyotes? Also, your saying call for 90 min straight??
Carpsnipe is right on... good perspectives.
I don't like the heat call because I'll take ANY cougar. Heat calls will as likely runn oft smaller cats, especially if they know big boy is around.
They breed any time of year, and keep their cubs with Mamma for up to two years, but spring is definitely the most common breeding time.
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New fawn bleat
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191219/8deb2d9b5f76e6ea23e6792281eea3b1.jpg)
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
The reed fell out, it was a fawn bleet :'(
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I sent a PM to BMeyer, from predator masters to see if I can get it fixed
Are they just press fit?
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I find it funny how you are supposed to call for half hour straight, yet, I've never heard that noise in the woods and I've spent a ton of time in the woods. I believe you guys, just saying its odd I've never heard it before.
You are correct ,I've never hear distressed sounds in the woods.
I believe is something most predators hear when learning to hunt.
I have had success hunting coyotes ,loud blasting sound for 20 min ,then tone it down to some kind of high pitched sound for another 20.
I live pretty deep in the woods and I hear rabbit distress and fawn distress a lot, I know they aren't from callers as they are about 5 feet from my back patio sometimes. They last for hours on end, sometimes the rabbits literally go all night. They aren't very loud so I don't imagine they project that well.
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I had a fawn go off at 4-4:30 am squeeling to beat hell, does were going absolutely ape nuts, one old doe ran 1/2 mile and splashed into the river and bombed across. I got a binos and a rifle out and homed in on the squeeling fawn but couldn't see it due to the 6 foot grass it was in and brush. I tried to see what had it, no idea what got it. Whatever it was didn't spooke out like a yote with does on its butt. I figure bear, took a while for the squeeling to stop.
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I don't hear snowshoe hare go off too often, can't remember one. I've seen two different weasles chasing hares, one literally ran between my elk hunting buddy and I, stepped on his foot running from the weasle.
We interrupted the weasles hunt so didn't hear the weasel get it to see if the rabbit went squeeling
Are you hearing actual rabbits or hares? I wonder if they're fighting when you hear them squeeling ?
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So, it's Fall time again!
Just a reminder, that I want cougar hunting stories... even if they happen during a deer hunt, or just driving to town!
Just Posted O38 on the webpage! http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
A friend of mine on a "fresh" sighting!
Good luck this year, guys and gals!
Electronically delivered sound sequences and tutorials are still available on the website. Also building hand calls for cougar and everything else, and still doing custom knives! Baby girl is getting older so I can get some more shop time as things progress!
Son, Alex, is still doing budget blades. (1st year of college from home, janitor at our church, studying wildlife biology.)
Son, David, is able to do pens and letter openers, but is moving to focusing more on cleavers and swords and more complicated stuff! (Jr year, homeschool, co-captain of the Selah Vikings football team!)
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Just Posted O39 on the cougar Call In Story page.
Nerves of steel, man!
Also seeing a few stories on the forums from this year! Way to get out there and get 'em! I'd love to get the stories on the site, if you're willing, please reach out to me and I'll get it posted!
http://www.rain-shadow.com/cougar-callin-stories.html
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FYI:
ComplEEEEEEETTTly built a new website today. (Yeesh, how do them nerds do it all day every day?!?!)
Same URL, although the www isn't necessary anymore.
rain-shadow.com
Simple.
GoDaddy couldn't handle a 16 file download purchase, or over 200,000 keystrokes on one page, so a couple things had to change...
The Cougar Calling Package is now in three parts, but it's an e-commerce site and it's supposed to download purchases automatically, so it's easy and simple... hopefully!
The Call-In Story Pages are linked from the home page, and easy, and now divided into sections, so it's actually a little easier to find stuff... but the old direct link doesn't work!
So, the Direct LinkS to the Calling Stories are:
https://rain-shadow.com/cougar-calling-stories-1
https://rain-shadow.com/cougar-calling-stories-2
When I add (YOUR) story, I'll direct the post to the page in question, the pages link to each other and to home so it's all at the click or tap.
Speaking of Tap, it's supposed to work WAYYYY better on phones and tablets now...
I'm going to be adding and tweaking for a decade or so, but check it out and see what you think!
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Got my 4 wheel drive fixed today.
Got the chains for it too.
The slider gear that connects up the axle stub on passenger side was froze up. The retaining washer and c clip was screwed up ,causing the axle to move around.
So hopefully I'll be able to find some time,and take the boy out here. Depending on quotas and what not. After the first of year.
4 wheel drive has been broken since late buck season.
Everybody needs to go hunt cougar.
We need more people predator hunting.👍
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Hope you can get after them, 399. Looks like good conditions on the dry side tomorrow!
Just posted story number RS24... Dave, in South Dakota got another one! His 4th!
Of course, he called cold (which I advise not to do unless you're out of options) on a spot that worked in the past (which I advise is a bad way to pick a stand location) and just WORKED one right in!
Once you say one thing, another thing works!
First Call-In Story Page on the website... link here: https://rain-shadow.com/cougar-calling-stories-1
Get out after 'em!
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-western-hunting-hub-podcast/id1507087118?i=1000592025225
A good podcast on hunting cougars without dogs.
Happy New Year!
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-western-hunting-hub-podcast/id1507087118?i=1000592025225
A good podcast on hunting cougars without dogs.
Happy New Year!
Good Podcast! South Dakota-centric and he doesn't use vocals, but some real good stuff!